The Claremont Colleges Library has selected the winners of its 12th Annual Library Undergraduate Research Award (LURA). Students who demonstrate exemplary original research and scholarship, including remarkable skill and creativity in the use of library and information resources, receive recognition and cash prizes ranging from $500 to $1,500 for their work.
The Library received a record-breaking number of total student submissions in 2025 from across each undergraduate institution of The Claremont Colleges (TCC). From this year’s 58 outstanding submissions, the 2025 LURA winners are:
Senior Award ($750)
The following students tied and, therefore, were both awarded.
Alexandra Scott, Pomona College
Snacks, Subscriptions, and The State: Analyzing Japan’s Nation Brand Through Bokksu Snack Boxes
Faculty Sponsor: Samuel Yamashita, Pomona College
Julia Schwartz, Pomona College
Global Analysis of Biodiversity Co-Benefits Across Natural Climate Solutions Pathways
Faculty Sponsor: Charlotte Chang, Pomona College
Junior Award ($500)
Wendy Zhang, Pomona College
Aging and Misinformation Susceptibility
Faculty Sponsor: Laura Johnson, Pomona College
Sophomore Award ($500)
Holden Tsai, Pomona College
How to Teach History: What Lessons the International Community Can Learn from Post-1949 Taiwanese Educational Policy
Faculty Sponsor: Cristina Bejarano, Pomona College
First-Year Award ($500)
Vivian Fan, Pomona College
Antifeminism, American Nationalism & the Potentially Oriental Other: Origins of the Conservative College Newspaper The Claremont Independent
Faculty Sponsor: Andrew C. Long, Pomona College
Group Project Award ($1,500)
Gwen Tucker, Scripps College
Jenna McMurtry, Pomona College
Addie Morrisette, Scripps College
Selling Citrus
Faculty Sponsor: Lily Geismer, Claremont McKenna College
Please note: All submissions were anonymized (e.g. name, college) evaluation using the same set of criteria. Links to each paper published to Scholarship@Claremont are coming soon!
An awards ceremony to honor the winners will be held on Friday, April 25, 2024 at 4:15 p.m. in the Library’s Founders Room. While friends, family and associated faculty of the winners are encouraged to attend, this is also a great opportunity for students across TCC to draw inspiration from the winners’ projects — especially as finals season approaches! Community members are also welcome to attend to gain some insight into the ongoing research taking place in the “City of Trees and PhDs.”
Light refreshments will be available starting at 4 p.m. There will also be an opportunity to chat with the winners and Library staff after the ceremony to learn more about available Library services and resources.
Library staff is humbled and honored to support the research efforts of all TCC students and, through LURA, recognize their outstanding work. Since its start in 2014, LURA has generated the publication of 67 student research projects through TCC’s institutional repository Scholarship@Claremont, which have contributed to a wide array of academic fields. As a testament to the quality nature of these projects, these winning and honorable mention papers have been downloaded more than 48,500 times from readers around the world — from Tempe, Arizona to Tampa, Florida, and all the way to the likes of Kenya, Singapore, Australia and beyond.
Undergraduate students from across the consortium have the opportunity to apply for LURA every year. This means that students are likely already hard at work on 2026 submissions and discovering new things to add to the world.
Visit the LURA webpage for additional information. Questions about LURA, including the awards ceremony and application process, can be directed to libraryresearchaward@claremont.edu.