Graduate Students Earn Master's Degrees

April 26, 2021

Four of our CHAIRE Graduate Students Madeline Winans, Shannon Kelley, Yolonda Bradshaw, and Zach England have completing their thesis exams and are now preparing to graduate this semester. Madeline’s defense seminar was titled “Measuring the Welfare Effect of Facility Relocation on a Population of California Sea Lions (Zalophus californiaus)” which was completed in partnership with the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (CZA). Through her research, Madeline helped the zoo quantify the impact of transfer on the animals’ welfare using behavioral data and hair and salivary cortisol measurements. Madeline is interested in continuing her education in the future as well as pursuing opportunities within the university. This summer she will also continue to work with CZA completing additional projects that began during her master’s program working with their sea lion population.

The title of Shannon’s thesis seminar was “The Influence of Human-Animal Interactions on Psychological and Physiological Responses in College Students and Animals.” Shannon evaluated the influence of interactions on both college students as well as the animal species involved which were dogs, goats, and mini-donkeys. Her data collection included survey analysis, heart rate monitoring, and behavioral observations of the animals. Shannon has been accepted into the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine and will begin veterinary school this coming fall.

Yolonda’s thesis seminar was titled, “The Impact of Breed Identification and Adopter-Dog Behavior on the Adoptability of Shelter Dogs,” which was in partnership with the Franklin County Dog Shelter and Adoption Center. Her data collection included behavioral observations of the dogs during interactions with potential adopters and pre and post surveys. She is currently working as the training and enrichment program manager at a humane society in Illinois.

The title of Zach’s thesis seminar was “Assessing the Impacts of Environmental Changes on African Penguins’ Personality, Behavior, and Biomarkers.” This project was also in partnership with CZA, and Zach measured the potential impact of environmental changes through personality surveys, behavioral observations, and measurements of fecal corticosterone." Zach is currently pursuing opportunities within the university with an interest in continuing his research and outreach the area of animal welfare.

We are very proud of all four of our graduate students and wish them well on their future endeavors!

Madeline Winans

Shannon Kelley

Yolonda Bradshaw

Zach England