TWU Spring 2024 Commencement Program

Meredith Anne Ford, B.S., M.S.N.,
Major: Nursing Science
Dissertation: A Narrative Analysis of the Partner of a Patient
Who has Undergone a Prostatectomy
Kaitlyn Sue Foster, B.S., D.P.T.,
Major: Physical Therapy
Dissertation: The Influence of Therapeutic Exercise on
Subsequent Occurrence of Lower Extremity Musculoskeletal
Dysfunction Within One Year of a Low Back Pain Diagnosis in
the Military Health System
Amanda Jean Frank, B.S., D.P.T.,
Major: Physical Therapy
Dissertation: Validation of the Military Concussion Readiness
Inventory – Dizziness and Balance
Sonja D. Gaddy, B.S., M.Ed.,
Major: Literacy, Language, and Culture
Dissertation: Understanding Black Males’ Access to and
Perception of Academic Discourse in an Academic
Probation Course
Kunta Gautam, B.S.N., M.P.H., M.S.,
Major: Nursing Science
Dissertation: Perceptions and Experiences of Health for Mothers
of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Christopher Goffredo, B.S., M.O.T.,
Major: Occupational Therapy
Dissertation: Occupational Stress, Well-Being, and Pediatric
Occupational Therapists: A Mixed-Methods Study
Pallavi Govindnathan, B.F.A., M.F.A.,
Major: Multicultural Women’s and Gender Studies
Dissertation: A Battleground of Scars: Acid Violence Against
Women and Girls in Indian News Media
Paige Leighann Hoffmann, B.A., M.A.,
Major: Multicultural Women’s and Gender Studies
Dissertation: Towards a Disability Justice Pedagogy in the
Higher Education Classroom
Amanda Hopkins, B.A., S.S.P.,
Major: Child Development and Early Education
Dissertation: A Program Evaluation of an Academic and
Behavioral Program Created for Gifted Students with Autism
Brooke E. King, B.S., M.S.,
Major: Occupational Therapy
Dissertation: Social Participation and Quality of Life for
Geriatric Stroke Survivors: A Retrospective Study
Marielle Tavianna Leo, B.A., M.A.,
Major: Marriage & Family Therapy
Dissertation: Parents’ Perspectives of Sibling Bullying:
A Qualitative Inquiry
Michelle J. Loveless, B.S., M.Ed.,
Major: Special Education, Minor: Family Studies
Dissertation: Voices from the Field: Factors Related to Job
Satisfaction of Educational Diagnosticians
Tiffany Andrea McDonald, B.S., M.A.T.,
Major: Family Studies
Dissertation: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
of the Roles Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers Play in
Sexual Health Education in Texas
Shelly Poor Mencacci, B.A., M.S.,
Major: Education, Leadership, and Organization
Dissertation: What Are the Perceptions on Fostering and
Sustaining Prior Learning Assessment in Texas Institutions
of Higher Learning
Janice M Miles, B.S.N., M.S.N.,
Major: Nursing Science
Dissertation: The Effect of a Mobile Clinical Decision Support
Application on Clinical Decision-Making Skills and Satisfaction
in Undergraduate Nursing Students
Harriet Munai Omondi, B.S.N., M.S.,
Major: Nursing Science
Dissertation: A Phenomenological Study to Explore Mirror
Viewing in African American Women with Obesity
Robert Dean Parker, B.S.N., M.S.N., D.N.P.,
Major: Nursing Science
Dissertation: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Language of
Hospice Enrollment: A Multiple Case Study of Patient, Family,
Nurse, and Physician Discourse in the United States
Teresa Long Pierce, B.S., D.P.T.,
Major: Physical Therapy
Dissertation: Comparing Gait Biomechanics and Function in
Children with Bilateral Spastic Cerebral Palsy When Wearing
Oskar Afo-Footwear Combination Versus Standard Afo-
Footwear Combination: An Exploratory Study
Miteshri Kalpana Dhiraj Prajapati, B.S., B.S., M.S.,
Chancellor’s Student Research Scholar
Major: Nutrition
Dissertation: Effectiveness of a Virtual Nutrition Education
Intervention for Parents of Children with Autism and Obesity:
A YouTube Study
Tamara Lynn Starling, B.S.,
Major: School Psychology
Dissertation: Examination of the Influence of Social Emotional
Learning Techniques on Coping, Academic Self-efficacy,
Belongingness, Microaggressions, and Affect of Black Students
Desireé Thorpe, B.A., M.A.,
Chancellor’s Student Research Scholar
Major: Rhetoric
Dissertation: “What Can Dark Souls III Teach Writing
Instructors About Supporting First-Year Writers?”
Aaron Landon Turrubiarte, B.S., M.Ed.,
Major: Education, Leadership, and Organization
Dissertation: The Relationship of Teacher Turnover and
Student Achievement in Elementary School Mathematics
Andrew E.C. Wass, B.S., M.A.,
Major: Dance
Dissertation: Ch-Ch-Changes: Change in Solo Improvised
Dance-Making
Ashley Rae Watamura, B.S., D.P.T.,
Major: Physical Therapy
Dissertation: The Effect of Focus Attention on Motor
Performance and Learning During a Sit to Stand Task in
Individuals Post Acute Stroke
Jesse Weaver, B.E.S.S., M.Ed.,
Major: Health Studies
Dissertation: Who Is Really Teaching Adolescents About
Sexual Health?
Jennifer Kelly Whittaker, B.S., M.S., M.S.,
Major: Occupational Therapy
Dissertation: Examining an Application of Occupation-Based
Theoretical Models to Population-Based Occupational Therapy
Practice: A Foucauldian Critical Discourse Analysis
28 u Commencement Ceremony Spring 2024