The study, titled “Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Parkinson鈥檚 Disease Patients,” investigates how the global pandemic affected the quality of life and functional abilities of individuals living with Parkinson鈥檚 disease (PD) in the rural Midwest.

The research team was led by first author Maria Andrea Garcia Elizondo 鈥�25 and included fellow graduate Jermaine Francis Jr. 鈥�25, alongside faculty advisor Dr. Juliana de Almeida Cardoso, associate professor of psychology, and Dr. Lorraine Edwards, M.D., a neurologist with Central Nebraska Neurology.

鈥淟eading this mixed-methods study allowed us to explore the complex intersection of neurodegenerative disorders and the psychosocial disruptions caused by a global health crisis,鈥� said Garcia Elizondo. 鈥淚t was a rewarding challenge to see the project through from the initial data collection to a peer-reviewed publication. I am incredibly proud that our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the unique challenges faced by the Parkinson鈥檚 community in the rural Midwest, and I鈥檓 thankful for the mentorship that made this possible.鈥�

The research project was made possible through the 香蕉视频 Excelsior Scholars Program, which provides research grants to students. Garcia Elizondo received the grant in 2022 to complete the research while she and Francis Jr. were students. Garcia Elizondo majored in biochemistry, while Francis Jr. majored in health technology.

Using a mixed-methods approach, the team surveyed 31 participants and conducted 22 in-depth interviews. While the quantitative data showed no significant difference in daily functioning between those who had contracted COVID-19 and those who hadn鈥檛, the qualitative interviews revealed a complex picture of the pandemic’s toll.

The researchers identified five key themes:

• Symptom overlap between COVID-19 and Parkinson鈥檚.
• Health literacy challenges.
• The profound impact of social isolation.
• Varied reactions to the pandemic.
• Diverse perceptions of physical and emotional well-being.

The inclusion of Edwards provided a vital bridge between academic inquiry and clinical reality. Her expertise as a neurologist was instrumental in advising the students and framing the study鈥檚 impact on the local Parkinson鈥檚 community.

鈥淭his project highlights the multifaceted nature of quality of life for those with Parkinson鈥檚,鈥� Cardoso said. 鈥淭he findings emphasize a critical need for interdisciplinary approaches, peer support and community-based programs. Seeing our students lead a project of this caliber that addresses such complex, real-world needs is a testament to the power of undergraduate research at 香蕉视频.鈥�

The published study is now available through the Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences via New Prairie Press at .

All three are from rural communities 鈥� Reed from Adams, Nebraska; Sterling from Scottsbluff, Nebraska; and Brown from Grand Island, Nebraska. The availability of providers impacted each of their healthcare experiences growing up. They collaborated on a project to address the ongoing issue with the recruitment and retention of healthcare providers in underserved communities, and came up with ways to help solve the problem.

Reed, a pre-pharmacy chemistry major; Sterling, a pre-dental biology major; and Brown, a pre-medicine biology major who graduated in May, expressed their passion and concern when it comes to healthcare and providing for others.

They took their research and presented it during the College鈥檚 Academic Showcase in late April. Academic Showcase, during which classes are cancelled, is a chance for students to share their passions and to show off their impressive work.

Their Academic Showcase presentation highlighted issues with quality healthcare in the rural areas of Nebraska.

鈥淚 have been passionate about rural healthcare since high school, but one of my peers, Jenna Sterling, inspired me to shed light on this problem in this way. Myah and I were immediately onboard,鈥� said Reed.

Healthcare is vital to everyone鈥檚 quality of life, yet Reed, Sterling and Brown found that federal and state agencies note there are shortages of medical professionals in rural Nebraska. Many may not realize the urgency of this issue, but Reed and her peer鈥檚 research highlights its importance.

鈥淪ome specialties have as few as zero to one provider for every 10,000 residents,鈥� Reed said. 鈥淎 solution needs to happen quickly or we risk allowing rural areas to fall further behind, leaving a large part of our population with nothing.鈥�

The importance of healthcare pushed the three to suggest solutions to this issue in hopes of benefitting not only Nebraska, but the entire country.

Reed emphasized this issue is prominent in all underserved communities across America. The group found that proactive recruitment, mentorship and working with educational institutions will help these communities and contribute to the growth and sustainability of the larger population.

鈥淲hen people have access to healthcare close to home, they鈥檙e more likely to stay, raise families and contribute locally,鈥� Reed said.

With plans on becoming a healthcare provider herself, Reed said she decided to use 香蕉视频 as an educational stepping stone in order to do so. She plans on returning to a rural area to be part of the solution. Her dedication and passion towards this subject will create a positive impact not only on her community, but her career.

鈥淧roviding quality healthcare also takes recognition of the bigger picture and what challenges people can face when coming to a provider. In knowing this now I will be able to empathize with other professionals in my field and understand that building connections with them is an important part in keeping them in rural communities,鈥� Reed said.

Reed, Sterling and Brown want to spread awareness to try and help underserved communities and strive for a solution that will benefit all.

鈥淎wareness can start with just conversation,鈥� Reed said. 鈥淪imply talking about rural healthcare access and the challenges providers face can help reduce stigma and bring attention to the issue. The more people who understand this issue, the greater chance we have of creating meaningful change.鈥�

By Rachel Ritzmann a business administration and marketing major from Broomfield, Colorado

Duffy, a biochemistry major from Elbert, Colorado, will be a senior in the fall. She鈥檚 been an active student, not only excelling in her classes, but also taking advantage of academic opportunities beyond the classroom. Duffy began working for the science department during the fall of her freshman year, and by the spring semester she had partnered with Dr. Neil Heckman to begin conducting research.

Over the last two years, Duffy has continued to step outside her comfort zone by collaborating with Heckman and fellow student Morgan Wohl to publish a research article, as well as finishing her senior research project a year early and submitting it for publication in an undergraduate research journal. Her article on imidazolium-based ionic liquids was accepted and published this past spring.

鈥淪he鈥檚 the first student that I have had in 20 years that has had two papers published, one with her being a co-author and one her being the sole author. I just feel like she is an outstanding student, someone who has always taken advantage of the opportunities presented to her and reaps the benefits of hard work and the courage to say yes,鈥� Heckman said.

This still wasn鈥檛 enough excitement for Duffy 鈥� she also spent many hours pursuing acceptance into the Still Scholars Program, an early acceptance program for A.T. Still University鈥檚 Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine.

鈥淚 started the application process last year as a sophomore. Then the summer between my sophomore and junior year I worked on all my essays and shadowing hours for the application. After completing around 200 hours of shadowing and clinical experience, as well as significant volunteering, I went through two rounds of interviews. I was very excited to be accepted into the program this last October,鈥� Duffy said.

Duffy said she is ecstatic to continue her education at A.T. Still, specifically the opportunity that she has to study osteopathic medicine, a medical approach that emphasizes preventative measures and holistic health. Duffy became interested in this type of practice after seeing the positive effects that osteopathic medicine had on her own life, and she hopes to channel what she has learned from her personal journey into her professional practice one day.

Duffy will spend four years at A.T. Still before graduating with her doctorate, and afterward she will spend anywhere from two to four years completing residency. She is not sure exactly what type of specialization she wants to pursue yet, but is considering dermatology.

As she enters her senior year already accepted into medical school and with her senior project complete, the question has become what will she do with all the extra time on her hands. For Duffy, the answer is simple and wise beyond her years.

鈥淚 really want to take my senior year to do the things that I love, because it鈥檚 going to be my last year before a very intense school schedule. Medicine is a big passion of mine so continuing my shadowing and volunteer efforts is something I鈥檓 really looking forward to next year. But I also want to make sure I spend time with my family and my friends, and do the things that make me the happiest before I can鈥檛 do them as much,鈥� Duffy said.

This is fitting for Duffy鈥檚 character as someone who is very intentional about working hard on her studies and her dreams, but also taking the time to be involved socially. Throughout her college career she has been involved in student government as the Executive Cabinet treasurer, president of Alpha Chi and a member of the women鈥檚 tennis team.

Taking advantage of all the opportunities offered to her, both academically and socially, is the defining characteristic of her incredibly successful college career.

鈥淚 think getting involved, meeting people and having a good group of people to surround you really helps,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 pushed myself to get out of my comfort zone and looking back, I am so thankful that I did.鈥�

Duffy said she is thankful for Heckman鈥檚 guidance and support, as well as 香蕉视频 for providing the many opportunities to achieve her dreams.

By Landry Hinkson 鈥�23

Talbert found all that 鈥� and a scholarship 鈥� at Hastings and now feels like he is where he belongs. Check out the video below to hear more of his story.

Appelhans said she originally planned to attend a college that had an adjoined dental school, but after seeing 香蕉视频 at a college fair and visiting on a whim, she decided it was the right place for her.

鈥淚 went to a college fair at my high school and 香蕉视频 was there. They explained that I could do these pre-med and pre-dental things, and encouraged me to apply because of their free application. Then I got a pretty good scholarship, and when I visited I really loved the campus and the small school atmosphere,鈥� Appelhans said.

Now, as a University of Nebraska Medical Center graduate and a practicing dentist, Appelhans is able to look back and see how choosing 香蕉视频 for her education ultimately benefited her, both while furthering her education and also working in her desired career field.

鈥淭here are a ton of difficult science classes your first year of dental school and if I didn鈥檛 have my chemistry background, I think getting through those would have been 100 times more difficult. Now even in my career, I鈥檓 using my biochemistry background knowledge a lot to understand how the body works and all the medicines that we prescribe to people,鈥� Appelhans said.

Appelhans also said she believes that the liberal arts aspect of her degree benefits her as a dentist, mostly by being able to better connect with the variety of the people she works with on a daily basis. During her time at 香蕉视频, Appelhans worked at Pediatric Dental Specialists of Greater Nebraska, at both the Grand Island and Hastings locations. Through this and her work with various special needs children, Appelhans developed a passion for working with people with special needs.

Though the typical career path for those that want to work with special needs is education, Appelhans found that experience working with this demographic was relevant to dentistry as well. Currently there is a need for dentists who have a good understanding of treating special needs patients, and Appelhans is particularly passionate about special needs adults who have aged out of pediatric dental offices, and are trying to transition into being treated at a general practice.

鈥淚 realized that there isn鈥檛 a big way for adults with special needs to be treated after they age out of a pediatric dental office. At dental school, we aren鈥檛 really taught in depth about how to treat people with special needs, so a lot of practitioners will refer them to somewhere else because they don鈥檛 know how to treat them,鈥� Appelhans said.

Appelhans is still pursuing general dentistry, but will add treating special needs adults as part of her practice in the future. Right now Appelhans is enjoying exploring her curiosity of the Pacific Northwest through her residency, and plans to stay in Portland until her two year license expires. After growing up and attending college in small towns, Appelhans said she鈥檚 enjoying the adventure of working at a large hospital in a big city.

鈥淚 went from Sterling, a small town in Colorado, to college at Hastings, which is a small town and a small school, to another small dental school. It was like perfect little building blocks up to where I’m at now, in this huge hospital in a huge city. I really think all of this prepared me to be successful where I am now,鈥� Appelhans said.

Appelhans said she encourages students to take advantage of the connections and networking opportunities that are available through 香蕉视频. In her experience, professors and alumni are more than willing to help students out, but it鈥檚 up to the students to start asking questions first.

鈥淭he biggest thing is, ask a lot of questions. Ask your advisor questions, tell them what you’re thinking career wise, and they’ll help you find your way, or they’ll help you pick classes that are going to help you find your way. If you’re not sure what you want to do, find alumni like me and ask questions if they are in a career field that you are potentially interested in. People are so willing to help at Hastings, both professors and alumni,鈥� Appelhans said.

By Landry Hinkson, a sophomore majoring in Communication Studies from Bazaar, Kansas.

鈥淚n middle school I had to pick either choir, band or orchestra. I picked choir and kept doing it all through high school and then decided why not major in music in college? Also in high school I’d taken chemistry class, and really liked that, went on and did AP Chem, and also liked that. I figured I like these two things, and this will open up a lot of opportunities for me after college so I might as well just do both,鈥� said Sedmak, who is from Fort Collins, Colorado.

During his time at Hastings, Sedmak has enjoyed getting involved in both areas of study. He stays busy taking private voice lessons and singing in both choirs 鈥� the 香蕉视频 Choir and the HC Choral Union. Sedmak is also working on a research project with chemistry professor Dr. Neil Heckman. Though Sedmak currently is unsure what he will pursue as a career after graduation, he plans to gain more insight through summer internships and focus on graduating college first.

鈥淚 would like to do an internship over either this summer or next to try and get a better idea of what I want to do. But I also didn鈥檛 didn’t even really pick what I was going to major in for college until I was applying. My mindset is, I鈥檒l figure it out when I get there, I just want to have options open,鈥� Sedmak said.

Between classes and homework, Sedmak has to balance a busy schedule. This is one of the reasons the block schedule drew him to Hastings, as it lets him focus on a smaller number of classes at a time in order to really understand the material before exams. Sedmak said he also likes the flexibility the block schedule gives him.

鈥淚 liked how most of the activities are at different times. It didn’t actually happen, but if I wanted to, I could do music, theater and a research project and still have time to do homework,鈥� Sedmak said.

In the future, Sedmak said he wants to travel through Europe after finding a passion for travel during a two week high school trip to Europe. He enjoyed visiting the Louvre and would like to re-visit, along with going to different countries in Europe, particularly Switzerland.

For now, Sedmak is staying put in Nebraska and enjoying pursuing his various interests in college without stressing too much about the future.

鈥淚f there is someone that’s not really sure what they want to do, maybe just take a bunch of different classes and see what you鈥檙e interested in. I hadn’t even really thought about chemistry as something other than 鈥渙h, I need to take a science class.鈥� I just kept doing that, and it worked out for me,鈥� he said. 鈥淧art of it is also not really stressing a whole lot about needing to have a solid plan for what I’m doing after college. I think it鈥檚 important to focus on what I need to do for college by what interests me. I鈥檓 focusing on the present and figuring things out as I go.鈥�

By Landry Hinkson, a sophomore majoring in Communication Studies from Bazaar, Kansas.

Lee traveled with A Broader View (ABV), a missionary program that allowed her to mix two passions: medicine and mission work. ABV strives to connect volunteers with people around the world to make a difference in their lives through meaningful service-learning volunteer work, making it a perfect fit for Lee.

While looking at ABV鈥檚 list of 27 countries volunteers can travel to, Lee hoped to travel to a Spanish speaking country. When she saw Honduras was an option, she made her decision.

The Mead, Colorado, native lived in Honduras with a host family during her stay. She spent her mornings in a free clinic taking patients鈥� blood pressures, charting vitals and making gauze. After lunch, Lee took Spanish classes during the first half of her stay to become more fluent in the language. During the last half, she spent afternoons volunteering in an emergency room at a hospital.

In the hospital, Lee measured vital signs, gathered supplies and observed surgeries and births and assisted with various tasks. She said she enjoyed her time in the E.R. because it gave her opportunities to see procedures and the functionings of an impoverished hospital.

“The hospital was always short staffed, so any type of help they could get from volunteers was much appreciated,” she said.

Lee said working in the hospital was an eye-opening experience because she saw differences in how people receive care. There were people who were short on money coming in and many had only received treatment for what they could afford, ignoring other medical issues.

“You never know what a person is going through, and I always knew people struggled with medical bills, but I watched people ignore major medical issues that needed to be treated,” she said.

With a new in-depth understanding of Spanish, Lee said she wants to continue to travel and do medical mission work. Lee will attend the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine next year, which will open her up to new opportunities to help others as well.

香蕉视频 science professors pushed Lee to be her best. She’s always been successful in school, but she said her professors continue to push her to exceed their expectations.

“I feel like they are invested in my future and have pushed me to shoot higher than what I thought for myself while applying to medical schools,” she said.

香蕉视频 helped Lee travel to Honduras through a Student Scholarship Fund, a scholarship provided by the college to allow students to go to conferences, research projects and traveling abroad.

By Courtney Hanson, a junior from Brookings, South Dakota, majoring in communication studies and philosophy and religion

The Papillion, Nebraska, native spent the summer in Lawrence, Kansas, to complete the REU in the Barybin lab at the University of Kansas. Feden wanted to get more experience in chemistry as she neared graduation, so Dr. Neil Heckman, 香蕉视频 professor of chemistry, encouraged her to apply for an REU.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so important to get real-world experience to have on your resume when applying to grad school,鈥� she said.

Feden worked in an inorganic synthesis lab and synthesized a molecule with potential to be used as materials for molecular electronics. The lab group has attempted other synthetic routes in the past, but had not achieved the desired molecule until this summer. The graduate student she worked under proposed the synthetic route, and it turned out to be a success.

The lab synthesized the molecule to study the electrochemical properties, which was made possible by synthesizing each half of the molecule and linking those together. The lab has synthesized many molecules with potential as materials for molecular electronics before. The molecule Feden worked on completed a family of pi-linkers with interesting electrochemical properties to be studied.

After completing the research, Feden presented a formal research presentation. Having never done a scientific presentation before, she said it was a valuable learning experience to prepare a scientific poster and give a presentation to a roomful of chemistry experts.

To help undergraduates learn more about what they can do in the future, the university brought in weekly speakers during the summer, which Feden said was helpful. She said the experience gave her the confidence to apply to grad schools for chemistry, with a goal of earning a聽 PhD in chemistry.

Feden said she was confident in the lab during her REU thanks, in part, to chemistry professor Dr. Moses Dogbevia, who pushes students to be self-reliant in the lab.

鈥淚 could confidently apply what I鈥檝e learned in the lab at Hastings to what I was doing in Kansas,鈥� she said.

By Courtney Hanson, a junior from Brookings, South Dakota, majoring in communication studies and philosophy & religion.

The 2001 香蕉视频 graduate majored in biology, minored in chemistry and was a member of the Hall of Fame 香蕉视频 football teams of 1998 and 1999. While balancing his role on campus as an honor student-athlete, he devoted time to his career as a medic in the Army Reserve.

鈥淪erving in the Army is one of the best things I have ever done,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 few years after earning my Masters at Colorado State University, I deployed to Iraq. There I realized how much of an impact I could have, the value of patience and how a little bit of help can improve someone鈥檚 situation.鈥�

After serving in Iraq, McKay and his wife Ashley moved to North Carolina, where she matched for internal medicine residency at Duke. After her residency, she completed a gastroenterology fellowship at Wake Forest while Jerome earned his PhD at the Wake Forest School of Medicine.

鈥淢ore education is never a bad thing. After my wife鈥檚 gastroenterology fellowship, she wanted to specialize in hepatology and was interested in a program in Colorado,鈥� McKay said. 鈥淚t was nice to move back home, and we鈥檝e been here ever since.鈥�

鈥溝憬妒悠� was a very supportive factor in my life. I remember being away for training at an Army leadership training class, and receiving my Analytical Chemistry final exam in the mail from [Emeritus Professor of Chemistry] Dr. Mattes to complete and return. The professors went out of their way to be supportive of military service,鈥� he said. 鈥淔rom being a part of the Broncos football team, to giving me unique experiences during J-Term, I鈥檝e grown so much as a person and that started right here at 香蕉视频.鈥�

McKay said he encourages 香蕉视频 students to take on change in their lives in order to become a stronger person.

鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid of change because that鈥檚 often when you grow the most. I would tell 香蕉视频 students to trust your gut and if you want to do something, research it and just go for it. Nine time out of 10, it鈥檒l work out for you and you will grow from it,鈥� said McKay.