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The Confluence

Volume 4, Issue 1 (2025)

Welcome to the Confluence

Dear Readers,

With great excitement, I welcome you to this first issue of the fourth volume of the The Confluence, Lindenwood University's student research journal. As we embark on another year of excellent scholarly exploration, we are proud to present eight outstanding articles that reflect the breadth, creativity, and rigor of student research across disciplines.

This issue exhibits the enduring value of undergraduate and graduate inquiry, with each article adding to the global scholarly conversations in their particular fields. Our authors and contributors have tackled topics ranging from the resilience of cultural traditions to the complexities of identity, from the neurological effects of childhood trauma to the evolving landscape of global cybersecurity.

The Confluence serves not simply to feature the work of some of our best students, but also to provide our scholars with the real-world experience of undergoing the publishing process. Each article has undergone a rigorous review process, guided by our dedicated editorial team and faculty mentors. We are grateful to the authors for their intellectual curiosity and perseverance, and to the faculty who have provided invaluable mentorship through the research, writing, and revising process.

We proudly present this issue and affirm our commitment to fostering and featuring a vibrant community of student scholars. You are invited to engage with the research presented here, to question, discuss, and to be inspired. Whether you are a student, mentor, or lifelong learner, we hope this issue sparks new ideas and conversations.

Thank you for your continued support of our journal and for championing the next generation of researchers, scholars, and artists.

Sincerely,

Dr. Nichole Torbitzky

Editor, the Confluence

Articles

Editor-in-Chief

Dr. Nichole Torbitzky, Lindenwood University

Cover Art

The Deceiver

About the Author

Bri Griesenauer is a digital art major who specializes in illustration and character design. She loves creating fantasy characters and creatures, and despite majoring in digital art, her favorite medium to draw with is a simple pen and paper. Her dream job is to work for herself creating art of her own design and selling it in the form of prints, buttons, stickers, charms, and many more alongside creating commissions to sell to others. Bri has one first place in digital art in Lindenwood’s 2024 spring juried show which allowed her piece to be featured in the Highland Art Center for a short time. She was also featured in the Varsity Art 29 show at Art Saint Louis in spring of 2025.

About the Art

The Deceiver is the third and final piece of a set I created in 2024. He was originally designed by my boyfriend for a storytelling game my friends and I were all a part of, and I decided to have him as the exciting finale to this set. The character’s name is Cede Iver, and when rearranged, it spells “deceiver” which inspired the piece's name. He treats the other characters as his dolls and thinks he is above them, so the other people are added in as dolls of sorts. When I make these portraits, I focus on a heavy glow of a certain color with dark lighting around the rest of the piece. The color used for the glowing focus in this piece is green.