As many juniors at the Academic Magnet are beginning to think about topic ideas for their Senior Theses, one senior has shown what can become of working diligently on this daunting project. Jack Hosley completed his thesis on “Bullying and Ostracism in Students Labeled Gifted and Talented,” something to which Magnet students may be able to relate. Hosley was one of the handful of seniors who presented in the month of November, and received a 98 on his thesis. I interviewed Jack and had him explain the news  surrounding his thesis, and also what his plans are for college and later in life.

William Tipton: How would you describe your thesis process?

Jack Hosley: Overall it went well, and I was lucky to have a good mentor. I worked about 4 hours a week on it since I began the process last fall, and used archival data for my analysis. This allowed me to receive complete and accurate findings while being able to fully devote my time and energy into analysis and understanding the data rather than having to hastily collect it.

WT: What is the acclamation that you are receiving for your study?

JH: In early October, my mentor and I submitted the paper to the Southeastern Psychological Association, which was being held for the first time in Charleston in March of next year. It was reviewed among other professional level studies, not student studies. We learned right after the defense in November that the study was accepted for presentation at their convention, something my mentor and I are very happy about.

WT: Who is your mentor and how would you advise juniors beginning this process to find the right mentor?

JH: My mentor is Dr. Conway Saylor, a psychology professor at the Citadel. I found her by emailing a lot of professors in the area, and many referred me to her. In my opinion, this is the best way to find someone good, and emailing at an early stage will often result in this like it did for me.

WT: Give us a brief summary of your findings.

JH: After looking at the data extensively, we found that in middle school specifically, students in honors classes were bullied and ostracized online more than those in non-honors classes. We also found that online bullying was even higher among gifted and talented students than those who are not.

WT: Did you think this topic will be something you build on in the form of future research or even potentially a career?

JH: It is certainly something I think I would want to research in the future, but not necessarily what I want to do as a career. 

WT: Do you know where you are going to college, or what you plan to do after high school?

JH: I have been accepted and plan on going to MacAlester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is a D3 school that I will be playing baseball for, so I am pretty excited.

While thesis can be difficult and stressful, substantial success in the professional world can be achieved through this process. It is also very rewarding, as Jack has said, to find this success and know that your ability to do college level research, as well as any larger project, has greatly improved. Read the Talon for an upcoming list of all seniors’ theses in the class of 2018.