What do Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, Edgar Allan Poe, and Plato all have in common? Northern Essex Community College honors experience students – that’s what.

A half dozen NECC honors experience students presented their honors projects for individual courses during a poster session exhibit at noon on Monday, Dec. 10.

April Anamisis of Methuen explored, for her Introduction to Organic and Biochemistry class, what most deterred the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. The answer? The lowly cucumber.

Introduced to Plato during a philosophy class, Nathan Ko of Andover researched, for his Introductory to Philosophy class, whether Plato and Karl Marx were in fact communists. The results? True communism, by definition, has yet to exist.

Hoping to be a veterinary pathologist one day, Kelsey Terry of Amesbury examined how important chemistry is to veterinary lab procedures on animals. They are a critical step, she learned for her chemistry class, for dignosing and curing animals.

Mason Keeley of Newton NH looked at how the authors Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne used enlightenment themes in their texts for his American Literature class.

Poe’s villains were the subject of Haverhill resident Elfie Grusing’s American Literature project. For example, in “The Fall of the House of Usher,” she discerned, that the past was the actual evil villain.

For his Organic and Biochemistry class, Zachary Rice of Derry, NH, found he could successful extract andburn biodiesel from used coffee grounds.

Haverhill resident Diane Vasquez explored the world of Early Onset Bipolar Disorder for her psychology class.

For more information regarding the Honors Experience Program contact Coordinator Ginger Hurajt at ghurajt@necc.mass.edu