Student Spotlight: Current Research Projects

(Banner, above) Funded by the Chappell Lougee Scholarship, Jackie Liu, '25 created ten oil paintings of her chosen family in “Family Tree,” traveling cross-country to visit each person, document their stories, and film her creative process.

What will you discover?

As an undergraduate student at Stanford, you have the unique opportunity to pursue your interests with both the freedom to carve your own path and the support to make the most of it.

Stanford provides project opportunities for the scientist, the artist, the writer, and for anyone willing to explore. From traditional research papers to innovative dance performances, Stanford students have undertaken a wide range of independent projects that deepen their understanding and love of a topic, connect them to faculty, and build the foundation for future experiences. Learn more about how to get started on your own independent project.

Kaelyn Ong

Kaelyn’s Small Grant project explored how community development coordinators in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles understood and navigated Asian American identity in their work, particularly in relation to multiracial tension, exclusion, and solidarity. Through interviews with individuals involved with the Little Tokyo Service Center, she produced a research paper and a supplementary zine. The zine served as an object of collective memory, featuring collages made from interview quotes, original photography from community engagement sessions, and participant-submitted photos that reflected their Asian American identity.

Becca De Los Santos

Becca De Los Santos’s Major Grant project explored the gap between French anti-slavery rhetoric and the realities faced by enslaved people in colonial Senegal. Focusing on the years following the 1848 abolition decree, Becca examined how enslaved individuals began claiming their freedom in 1857 despite official resistance. Building on her work with the Senegal Liberations Project, Becca analyzed overlooked liberation registers to highlight how enslaved people actively pursued freedom - through self-purchase, legal claims, and direct appeals - offering a fuller history of emancipation in French West Africa.

Aidan Delgass

Aidan Delgass’s Chappell Lougee project examined religious imagery of the End in Russian, Soviet, and American media. Aidan explored differing interpretations of apocalypse - revelation, catastrophe, and utopia - through a comparative lens shaped by each nation’s religious movements and histories of land acquisition. Drawing from visual and literary sources found in archives and physical sites, Aidan analyzed and synthesized these materials into a final research paper, laying groundwork for future creative work.

Shreya Komar