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As a former dually-enrolled high school and college student, Laura Eugene jumped at the opportunity to work with an FAU faculty member on a research project. Now, at only 18, Eugene is the recipient of FAU’s 2020 Undergraduate Researcher of the Year award.

“I was really excited and surprised by winning,” Eugene said. “I never thought I would go this far in research, it’s surreal.”

The award, in part, is due to Eugene’s participation in a research project about students’ opinions on voting rights for ex-felons with Lincoln Sloas, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the College of Social Work and Criminal Justice. The research was sparked by their combined interest in Florida’s Amendment 4, passed in 2018, which restored voting rights of Floridians with felony convictions, excluding sexual offenses and homicide. Eugene surveyed students in criminology and criminal justice classes and asked questions, such as whether or not a non-violent drug crime is less of a punishable offense than a violent drug crime, or if criminals could be rehabilitated. These items were then used to predict if someone voted for Florida’s Amendment 4.

“Working with Laura was an absolute delight. I find it very rewarding when undergraduate students show such a strong interest in research,” Sloas said. “The quality of her research is exemplary.”

After that initial project, Sloas and Eugene continued their partnership. In March, Sloas helped Eugene contribute pages to an encyclopedia entry in “Criminal Justice in America: The Encyclopedia of Crime, Law Enforcement, Courts, and Corrections.” Her writing focused on driving while intoxicated courts, which area specialized type of problem-solving court.

As of the Fall 2020 semester, Eugene studies English at the University of Pennsylvania. She plans on furthering her research initiatives with Sloas and said she hopes to expand the sample size of her project and eventually publish the study. Together, they are looking to apply to grants. Having the 2020 Undergraduate Researcher of the Year award on her resume should help, Sloas said. “It is an award of distinction and high honor in our college, especially for someone at Laura’s age,” he added. “I hope we can get more funding for more samples. We have more work to do.”

Check out their published pages:
Book:
Pages 175, 176, 731