Student engagement is a crucial tool that Arizona State University uses through multiple different methods to improve the student experience and increase retention. While student engagement has been implemented for decades, many methods come with weaknesses and areas for improvement that are evident through research on student engagement, critical factors towards student’s success, and high impact student engagement practices. Through research, student engagement has proven to be multi-faceted, crucial for a student’s success, and an ever-evolving tool that the university must continue to improve to meet the changing needs of the student body. This paper defines student engagement and high impact student engagement practices, lists and explains the many methods of student engagement, explains critical factors for student engagement, details Arizona State University’s current student engagement methods on the Downtown Phoenix Campus, and provides recommendations for improvement based on those aforementioned findings. This paper finds that many of the current methods could be improved through the implementation of new practices and programs such as Engage-Credits, the use of Design Thinking, and improvements for current systems surrounding collaboration, diversity initiatives, advising, student’s relationships with faculty and staff, and implementing the difference between engaged and disengaged students.

vaNILla is the connections based, partnership driven platform for collegiate student athletes and brands to pursue Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals. The program was coded in SwiftUI as a MVP (minimum viable product). I then took a look at NIL since its enactment and analyzed the financial impact of the rule change so far by creating a literary review that discusses the need for financial literacy and collectives’ influences on recruiting.

A friend of mine once told me that coding is like doing magic, and frankly, I am inclined to agree. With a keyboard, a development environment, and a little bit of language skill, you can build an entire world. Despite being heavily rooted in logic, math, and science, there is a certain mystery to it, a sense of illusion and wizardry. The sense of pride and power that comes from successfully finishing an app, program, or website is like no other. I recently watched the film Ex Machina (Alex Garland, 2014) for the first time, and I was struck by one of the lines. In thinking about the success of his creation and what that means for the world, he says, “I’m not a man, I’m God.” And although I wouldn’t say that is exactly how I feel when I turn in a coding assignment, I understand the sentiment. This thesis is going to be a bit different than the one I thought I was going to write. When I started this, I thought it would be about an amazing coding project I had completed. I would write about all the beautiful code and the nitty gritty of the technical aspects. But, the project that I intended to create is not the project I ended up with, and I couldn’t be happier. I finished with something a lot more meaningful, a lot more interdisciplinary, and a lot more me. In this essay and the accompanying coding project, I aim to take you on the journey of building my own piece of digital culture, an app titled “Exposed.” I begin by discussing how the motivation to create Exposed came from the desire to stop using an app made by an internet celebrity and how the values of Gen Z and their relationship with technology influenced and guided the creation of the app. Then I examine the relationship between code and the coder, and how external factors such as being a woman in technology impacts project development. Then I explain the results of the coding process and outline how Exposed turned out. Finally, I consider the meaning of digital culture and how it functions in the creation of Exposed. Along the way this project became extremely personal. I found that the deeper I dove into making the code work, the more I learned about myself and my relationship to technology. If I promise to be honest with you, will you promise to listen to what I have to say?

Food insecurity as defined by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or the ability to acquire such food in a socially acceptable manner. This research paper looks at differences in rates of food insecurity within the general population, among the ethnic groups and across college campuses. Current literature indicates that non-Hispanic blacks are disproportionately affected both within the general population and within the student population when compared to their White counterparts. This research paper is a review of literature that addresses the challenges associated with food insecurity among college students in the US, its causes, coping strategies, and implications both to the students and the society at large. Outlined are successful interventions at various institutions of higher education, resources and programs in place to tackle this societal malaise among college students in particular. Next, the paper addresses the issue of food insecurity among the three public universities in the State of Arizona with a focus on what program and resources each of the universities have in place to help students who are faced with food insecurity. Finally, several workable interventions are outlined that could be implemented to address food insecurity among student population in post-secondary campuses across the nation; ranging from the customary food pantry set up to the grandiose for universities that desire to be bold, sustainable, revolutionary, desire to be unique among its peers and be trail blazers in addressing food insecurity among college students.

The Lovely Co. is a comprehensive business plan that is an all inclusive service for newly engaged couples. This company has been created to fill a void in the wedding planning industry of a one-stop-shop. The goal of The Lovely Co. is to take away the stress that comes along with planning a wedding/events. This project has all aspects of a start up business including: website, social media platforms, business cards, pamphlets, budget, and employee's. We hope you have a "Lovely" time learning more about The Lovely Co.

Fundraising is a difficult yet critical function of nonprofit organizations. Special events make up a portion of fundraising strategy, and this project covers the basic components for throwing an inaugural event – one that the nonprofit organization has not done before but would like to continue to host regularly, typically annually – as it compares to my personal experience spearheading the Inaugural EmpoweRanch Roundup. When organizing any event, the first step is to define the purpose of the event by establishing a vision and goals. When establishing the purpose, consider what the funds from the event will directly pay for— the more specific you can get, the better. Donors want to see the impact they are making through their contributions, which will be clear if the purpose and projected profit allocation is communicated well. After establishing the time, date, and location, one should consider staff structure, volunteer management, organization, budgeting, print and digital marketing, social media marketing, risk management, site operations, food and beverage, accessibility, and sponsorships. Sponsorships become increasingly important depending on the budget for the event. After the execution of the event, it is important to evaluate and consider what improvements could be made if the event were to be reproduced. Evaluate if the event as a whole accomplished the purpose and goals established at the beginning of the process as well as how each component of the event and its production contributed to the purpose and goals.