Top off your college education with original work in your field.

Can physical exercise keep our minds young as our bodies grow old?  Ask Angie Seufert.  The exercise science and physical education major focused on this question for her senior Capstone experience. “There’s not any certain research out there,” Seufert said.

Seufert’s project is one of hundreds of capstone projects McDaniel seniors complete each year. Biology majors Julie Bryant and Jessica Penn collaborated with and contributed to a national research initiative in genomics. Music majors Josh Vyskocil and Sabrina Clarke each created an original composition, which debuted at on-campus performances by their peers. Amber Lassen applies skills honed during her capstone research to her work as a crime-scene-technician intern with the Maryland State Police. 

Conducting research helped Eric Lemmon – McDaniel’s first student to graduate with four majors: Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry and Physics – choose a direction in graduate school. At first Lemmon was set on just medical school, but after his experiences in research, he decided to enter the Ph.D.-M.D. program at Stony Brook University on Long Island.

“The Senior Capstone is the crowning feature of the McDaniel Plan,” says Tom Falkner, provost and dean of the faculty, explaining that through Capstones, students often “find their own 'voice' within their chosen field and begin to express themselves not just as students but as practitioners and budding professionals.”

And as for Angie Seufert? She’s now busy sharpening young minds as a physical education teacher for elementary school students.