Center of Social Science Research Student Paper Award Winner (2022), (long paper winner). Psychopathy has been a widely discussed topic throughout movies and pop culture, especially in recent years, which portray psychopathy through the lens of a vindictive, cruel, and charismatic protagonist. Examples that come to mind may be well-known television media such as Dexter, Hannibal, or American Psycho (Berryessa & Goodspeed, 2019). Audiences' interests are piqued when watching a character so strangely and perplexingly emotionally detached, often committing a heinous crime that goes overlooked due to their sharp ability to hide their crime by tricking others into believing a superficial but charming front. Psychopathic individuals are often unrealistically idolized and idealized as endearing super-villains consumers feel themselves rooting for (Keesler & DeMatteo, 2017). Within the criminal justice system, individuals that score high on psychopathy are not always superhuman criminals with distinguished intelligence, able to evade all detection by the law. It is imperative to study the realistic components of crimes perpetrated by psychopathic offenders to discern between fiction and reality. Psychopathy has been related to violence and criminal tendencies, specifically homicide. Within the corrections system, psychopathy also operates differently during and after incarceration than fellow offenders scoring low on psychopathic tendencies. In order to define the association between psychopathic traits and the perpetration of homicide, it is important to discuss models and theories of psychopathy as a concept alongside the motivations and characteristics of psychopath-perpetrated homicide.

Center of Social Science Research Student Paper Award Winner (2022), (short paper winner). Ecologist and marine/fishery biologist Simon Reddy states, "the weight of ocean plastics will exceed the combined weight of all fish in the seas by 2050" (2018). The matter of climate change and surrounding concerns are often brought up but continuously brushed off by individuals and countries alike. However, after digging deeper into this subject, it quickly becomes apparent how serious this is. This essay explores the severity of plastic pollution in the oceans, explains what the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is, how this issue is impacting both people and animals, and possible solutions, specifically the work being done by the Ocean Cleanup.

During my time as an undergraduate, I’ve had the pleasure of working with SUNY Oneonta’s own social science academic journal, SOAR. I started with SOAR as a peer reviewer during my junior year, which allowed me to understand the research process better and how to view academic research through a critical and constructive lens. I later got more involved with SOAR and became the Coordinating Editor for my senior year, which made me responsible for coordinating the publication process, helping organize meetings, recruiting submissions, and organizing the journal materials. Because of my role with SOAR, I presented at a SUNY-wide conference about the importance of undergraduate research and publication through the journal. Through this work, I became a research assistant under the faculty advisor for SOAR, Dr. Gregory Fulkerson. I continued to search for ways to grow SOAR and run social media accounts. I focused on helping the program so it wouldn’t die out or lose its progress, organizing a booth for the school’s club fair, organizing an interest meeting, and sending out information to other schools.