Debbie White was searching for a way to blend her love of horses and her love of computers to apply them in her undergraduate honors thesis.

So she decided to make a CD-ROM on the caretaking of horses for first-time owners.

White, a senior in equine science from Champaign, has put 180 hours of her creativity and patience into her first compact disc.

I never appreciated how much I learned about horses until I did this project, she said.

White’s form of handing her thesis in on CD-ROM is unique, and this is the first time it has been done in the University Honors program.

She constructed a program in which beginning horse caretakers can learn the various parts of the horse how to clean them, the various equipment needed and safety measures for the horse’s living environment.

White set up a time at University Farms to bring a video camera with her to shoot some of the horses in action. The pictures of the equipment and the horses had to be shot by her and could not be copywritten material.

She used a program called Quest to put the audio and video stills together. White said that this was the most difficult part because the timing of the words and photos appearing on the screen had to coincide with her commentary.

White also used Windows 95 to work with the sound and a program called Videdit to capture the video and transform them to digital stills and photos. She did most of the audio work at her home in Champaign and worked through the commentary at her home in Carbondale.

She used a scanner to place some of the photos on the CD-ROM.

There is just so much work put into it, but that is why they call it a thesis, she said. Now that it is done, but I am glad that I did it.

White was born on a farm, although she never had a horse on the farm. Her love for horses came when she decided to major in equine science the breeding and training of horses.

Her love of computers came from her home always having at least one and sometimes four computers in it.

I didn’t have a clue how to use some of the programs. So I was allowed this thesis under the condition of attending [WED 501], White said.

WED 501 is a class in multimedia production technologies and workforce education.

The class taught us how to work with the video cameras, use the audio and work with stills, White said.

White said that her six-member class assisted her when she needed help.

My greatest support was the 501 students, she said. We’ve become close friends.

Fred Reneau, professor of Workforce Education and Development 501 and White’s thesis director, agreed that the class provided White with needed input for her thesis.

We [the 501 class] gave her advice quite a bit. We also gave her direction, Reneau said. I was there to insure that she followed the proper procedures and that she stayed on task with this project.

Reneau said that he agreed to take this project because his department had the equipment White needed.

I think she learned a lot from the process, he said. She not only had to learn the software, but she had to learn the process in which a CD-ROM is made.

Although White is not quite done with the CD-ROM, she brought the project to where she wanted it.

It’s all on target what she planned, Reneau said. I think once it’s finished, it will be very good.

White may have been farther along in her project if it weren’t for a mishap because of simple human error. White accidentally deleted files in her Quest program while she was cleaning out her hard drive. She trashed some of the things she needed for her thesis.

It took White 25 hours to rework 60 hours of lost material.

It was a very aggravating week when I realized that I lost all of those files, White said. I couldn’t believe that after all of that work, I had to redo it because of a silly mistake.

White plans on giving the CD-ROM to one of her friends for Christmas, who is looking to buy a horse.

Frederick Williams, director of the University Honors program, said that it is very common for senior undergraduate honors students to do a thesis.

Twenty-five to 40 senior honors students do an honors thesis every year, Williams said. Some, like Debbie’s, are individually inventive.

Williams said that the way technology is today, he was not too surprised of White’s ideas.

Ten years ago, I would’ve been startled by someone handing a thesis in on CD-ROM, Williams said. This is the first of it’s kind that I know of.

White has created a stepping stone for students who have access to technology to put their thesis on CD-ROM, Williams said.

I’m sure it will be a start to thesis on CD-ROM, Williams said. The first thesis submitted on a floppy disc was a [forerunner] of things to come.

For undergraduate students who would like to join the honors program and complete a these, White has a small piece of advice.

Definitely do it. You learn so much, she said. Future employers will be glad to see on your resume that you worked on a thesis as an undergrad.