Pursuing an honors degree close to home

Oregon State University offers students the opportunity to pursue an honors degree on the Corvallis campus, through Ecampus and at OSU-Cascades in Bend, Oregon. For Margaret Martin, a fourth-year student studying social science with a minor in communications, that meant the chance to complete a research-focused honors degree close to home.

Margaret is completing her final year at OSU-Cascades in 2025 and credits the Honors College with motivating her “to jump headfirst into public health research and connect with fellow classmates and faculty at OSU-Cascades."

A transfer journey that sparked new opportunities

Margaret transferred to OSU-Cascades in her second year after attending an out-of-state institution without undergraduate research opportunities. She wasn’t sure at the time what she wanted from her college experience, but a campus tour in Bend helped clarify things.

“The Honors College at OSU-Cascades stood out to me because it seemed like a cool opportunity to be involved and have a community that I knew would welcome me as I transferred in,” she says. “And without my Honors College experience, I don’t think I would have done any research. It has opened a lot of doors for me.”

Publishing early research on homelessness and public health

One of those doors opened during her first year at OSU, when Margaret wrote a research paper for an honors course examining “the intersection of homelessness and public health,” which was later published in the Undergraduate Journal of Public Health at the University of Michigan.

“I really enjoyed that experience,” she adds. By getting involved in research early, she was able to establish connections with faculty and prepare for the thesis process.

Building a strong foundation through faculty mentorship 

Margaret says she is thankful for the “guidance that the Honors College offers,” which helped her gain a foothold in the program. 

“At OSU-Cascades, honors transfer students take a specialized class” taught by Senior Instructor Patrick Ball, which “walks students through the thesis process and helps them develop early research ideas.” 

Margaret shared her interests with Ball, who reached out to faculty on her behalf to help her find a mentor. That connection led her to Shannon Lipscomb, professor of human development and family sciences. 

“Dr. Lipscomb has done a great job checking in with me and giving me room to work independently, while also offering helpful feedback and guidance,” Margaret says. 

Hands-on research with real-world impact

Under Shannon’s mentorship, Margaret became a research assistant on a project examining links between childhood development and exposure to chemical flame retardants, collecting data from kindergarten classrooms across Central Oregon.

This hands-on experience helped shape her honors thesis, which focuses on “looking at how we’re communicating research back to the parents of these students who were in our studies,” she explains.

Working remotely with a PhD student in Corvallis, Margaret is analyzing survey and focus group feedback from parents of children involved in the flame retardant study. The project includes data from around 500 students across the state.

“I’ve always been interested in public health and how it intersects with communication,” she says. “This gave me the chance to be part of a scientific research team while also engaging with topics that matter to me."

Finding community and connection at OSU-Cascades

Though OSU-Cascades “has a smaller footprint,” Margaret says the tight-knit honors community there has been a strength.

“The biggest colloquium I’ve taken at OSU-Cascades had about ten people,” she says. “Because it’s so small, I’ve really gotten to know my classmates, and I have friends I talk with when I’m working on my thesis.”

She also participated in a short-term study abroad program with students from OSU-Cascades and the Corvallis campus. She says opportunities like this have helped her stay engaged with the HC as a whole. “I’ve found it to be pretty easy to connect with advisors and other honors students in Corvallis.”

Looking ahead: A future in public health and anthropology

Margaret plans to complete her thesis and graduate in December 2025. Looking ahead, she hopes to pursue a master’s degree in public health or health anthropology — and eventually, a PhD.

“I ended up really enjoying the research aspect of school through my honors experience,” she says. That experience, she adds, has helped her find a path that blends her academic interests with real-world impact.

This story was originally published on the Honors College website and was republished here with permission.