Annual spring event has evolved from 15 students in 2011 to 114 presenters this year
In the 14 years Wiggins Memorial Library has hosted the Academic Symposium at 羞羞视频, organizers have come to expect one thing every spring.
When it comes to topics, you never know what to expect.聽
The ways inherent satisfaction can motivate a student to excel. Med students who discovered four extra spleens in a cadaver. The good that can come from artificial intelligence in the classroom. How today鈥檚 streamers and YouTubers are having an effect on the way young people consume news. The prevalence of COPD in women. Toxic leadership in the video game industry. The transformational effect of prison education programs. The meaning behind the exaggerated behaviors of the children in Roald Dahl鈥檚 鈥淐harlie and the Chocolate Factory.鈥澛�
Those were but a few of the 114 total presentations given by 羞羞视频 undergraduate and graduate students at this year鈥檚 symposium, held March 27 at the library, in Butler Chapel and at the Oscar N. Harris Student Union. The event has grown considerably from the inaugural 2011 symposium that drew 15 presentations 鈥� that growth reflects the efforts of the 羞羞视频 community 鈥渢o cultivate experiential research and presentation opportunities for students,鈥� said Elizabeth Dobbins, head of Research & Instruction Services and assistant dean of the library.
鈥淔or many library staff, the Symposium is our favorite day of the year,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here’s so much excitement in the air. Everyone is encouraging the presenters, and you can see and feel the support they receive from their faculty mentors, family and friends. We feel so honored to serve as the custodians of a day that is so special for our students and faculty.鈥�
Only 27 of the 114 presenters earned 鈥渉igh merit鈥� or 鈥渕erit鈥� honors for their oral, poster, video or art presentations. Among the merit winners for graduate oral presentation was Jared Fries, the associate athletics director for 羞羞视频 Athletics and a student in 羞羞视频鈥檚 Master of Arts in Faith and Leadership program. Fries鈥� research examined the 鈥渧irtue and vice鈥� of Willy Wonka鈥檚 young visitors in 鈥淐harlie and the Chocolate Factory.鈥� The exaggerated behavior of the 鈥榝our nasty children and our hero,鈥� Fries wrote, provides a clear expression of several of the vices that is both a source of entertainment and instruction for moral formation.聽
Fries said his research helped him connect the ancient traditions he鈥檚 studying in his master鈥檚 program with modern day literature.
鈥淲e read a lot of Thomas Aquinas, which was good but challenging to read. Placing that ancient teaching in an accessible text, in this case a children’s book, helped me make connections with the content. It was also fun,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he symposium was a chance for me to take an academic paper and give it more meaning than just an assignment to earn a grade to complete course requirements. Most of our academic work is only shared between us and our professors, so sharing it with more people helps it feel valuable beyond the graded requirements.鈥�
Lilly Johnson鈥檚 presentation, 鈥淚ntrinsic Motivation in High School Students,鈥� looked at the effectiveness of 鈥渋nherent satisfaction鈥� 鈥� rather than external rewards like candy or prizes 鈥� and how it can help a student excel. A future teacher, Johnson said presenting her research not only gave her a better understanding of how students are motivated, but it helped in other ways as well.聽
鈥淚t helped me understand that just because there are easy ways to motivate students, it doesn鈥檛 mean it will help them later on in their education,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he point of me being a teacher is to help students learn something that will stay with them through life. The project also helped me develop my presentation and public speaking skills. I鈥檓 definitely glad I did it.鈥澛�
Some of the research was timely. Andrew Frabroni鈥檚 鈥淎rtificial Intelligence in the Classroom鈥� asked whether students would benefit from learning more generative AI skills (instead of developing a mindset that it鈥檚 鈥渃heating鈥� in some way). The son of parents who worked in technology and teaching, Frabroni had a very positive outlook on AI鈥檚 future in education.
鈥淚nstead of the idea that it will make people obsolete [in the workforce], I think those who learn this technology and learn these tools will be more in demand,鈥� he said.聽
Julian Dominguez鈥檚 research focused on the way popular streamers and YouTubers are having an effect on how young people consume news and other forms of media. These streamers, he said, have earned the trust of their loyal viewers and listeners, and these 鈥減arasocial relationships鈥� can influence bias. 鈥淭his type of association leads younger audiences into more 鈥榞roup-oriented鈥� thinking and less critical thinking when it comes to analyzing media,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ecause viewers are more reliant on the streamers for their opinions as part of their identity.鈥�
Anatomy students in 羞羞视频鈥檚 Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine took work performed on cadavers over the year and presented their findings in oral and poster presentations at the Symposium.聽
Jennifer Vasquez, Morgan Nelson and Khushmi Shah鈥檚 presentation was a case report titled 鈥淩are Occurrence of Four Accessory Spleens,鈥� detailing a 77-year-old man who died while suffering from aspiration pneumonia, epilepsy and prostate cancer and who was discovered 鈥� by the students 鈥� as having four accessory spleens around his normally functioning spleen. Cadaver work is an important part of a medical student鈥檚 education, and when a body is discovered to have a rare condition (four accessory spleens is almost unheard of), it leads to a unique learning experience.聽
鈥淔or us, you learn so much in an anatomy lab, and when we come across something rare or interesting like this, you can put in your own time on it,鈥� said Nelson.聽
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 know four was so rare,鈥� added Vasquez. In most cases, there is one extra and sometimes up to three, but I couldn鈥檛 find one case that had four.鈥�
Second-year med student Rachel Grant鈥檚 anatomy lab introduced her to a 73-year-old woman who died of cardiac arrest, COPD exacerbation and acute hypoxic respiratory failure. Her research explored COPD 鈥� chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 鈥� and the prevalence differences between women and men.聽
鈥淭his was important to me, because I鈥檓 interested in surgery, and historically, there hasn鈥檛 been as much research specifically on women and what goes on in our bodies 鈥� like we are predisposed to certain autoimmune conditions. So it led me down a research rabbit hole asking 鈥榃hy do women present this way?鈥� 鈥楬ow are our bodies different?鈥� This research was interesting to me, and hopefully to others.鈥�
The hoped-for outcome of every Academic Symposium is a greater appreciation for the learning process. Hannah Byer, a freshman Honors Program student, presented on 鈥淓ducation and Transformation,鈥� looking at prison education programs like 羞羞视频鈥檚 Second Chance Initiative and the impact they have on recidivism rates.聽
鈥淧rison education was something I鈥檇 never thought about before [my Honor 105 Self & World] class, so everything I learned was new to me,鈥� said Byer, whose research examined not only the benefits of the programs, but how they have had to overcome politics to succeed. 鈥淚 learned a lot about how political polarization creates barriers to implementing good ideas [like these programs].
SYMPOSIUM HONORS
A full (slides and videos) of presentations can be found online at
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Undergraduate Oral Presentations
High Merit
- Exploring Bolivia: No, Not Bolivia in South America: Bolivia, North Carolina by Sarah Cribb (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Justin Nelson)
- Crossing the Globe from my Bedroom: An Autoethnography of Computer-Mediated Communication in a Cross-Cultural Setting by Maisy Rainey (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Dean Farmer)
- Analysis of Guardian ad Litem Program Construction by Aaron Walls (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Catherine Cowling)
- Changing Perspectives of “The Glass Menagerie”–a disability studies reading by Mackenzie Wood (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Donna Waldron)
Merit
- The Miracle On Ice: How Geopolitical Rivalries of the Cold War Heated Up the Ice for an Unforgettable Hockey Game by Elizabeth Davis (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jaclyn Stanke)
- College Through the Lens of a First-Generation Hispanic Student by Crystal Lopez-Alvarez (Faculty Mentors: Dr. Sherry Truffin and Dr. John Roberson)
- 鈥淚 am not romantic, you know鈥�: A Feminist Reading of Charlotte Lucas by Gray Ricks (Faculty Mentor: Elizabeth Rambo)
- Meridian Kiosks: Efficiency Analysis by Jalen Wilkes, Patrick Adams, and Cameron Tassos (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kim Fowler)
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Graduate Oral Presentations
High Merit
- Increasing Compliance with Evidence-Based Metrics for Adult ADHD Treatment Monitoring by Robert N. Agnello (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Nicholas Pennings, Nominated by Dr. Emily Cayton)
- Syncretism: Christ, Culture and a Twissian Approach by Mark Hunter Locklear (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Cameron Jorgenson)
Merit
- An Examination of Virtue and Vice in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Jared Fries (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Cameron Jorgenson)
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Undergraduate Poster Presentations
High Merit
- Investigation of S321A variant of the thiamine dependent enzyme SucA in abiological carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions by Sumiya Bibi (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Evan Reynolds)
- Effects of substituents and reagent concentrations on the oxidation kinetics of benzyl silyl ethers by Mia Turley (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sarah Goforth)
Merit
- Coast Guard Academy 鈥淥peration Fouled Anchor鈥� Cover-up by Sage Dougherty (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Laura Lunsford)
- Prevention of Burnout in Nurses and its Impact on Patient Safety by Danielle Drent and Mackenzie Helms (Faculty Mentor: Prof. Sharon Boyd)
- Rational Design of Mutations to Expand the Substrate Scope of the Thiamine-dependent Enzyme SucA by Angelique Girard (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Evan Reynolds)
- Isolating Antibiotics: Assessing the Antibiotic Potential of the External Microbiome of Solenopsis invicta by Leeann Stearns and Amanda Beal (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Michelle Thomas)
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Graduate Poster Presentations
High Merit
- The clinical course, prognostic, and risk factors of neck pain conditions: an overview of systematic reviews by Toni-Ann Ariola (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Emily Bailey)
- Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in the Setting of Chronic Renal Failure by Zachary Kitts, Nidhi Kumar, David Feist, Joseph Leuelling, and Aishani Tingare (Faculty Mentors: Dr. Alan Proia and Dr. Amy Hinkelman)
- Five Common Causes and Diagnosis of Cirrhosis in Adults by Brianna Stempniak, David Lehrburger, Katherine Hennion, Danielle Ogonowski, and Nicholas Iskandar (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Robert Larson)
Merit
- Effects of Acupuncture on Obesity by Zachary Kitts and Nidhi Kumar (Faculty Mentors: Dr. Nicholas Pennings and Dr. Robert Agnello)
- Acidosis-dependent vascular regulation: role of GPR4 by Rudra Swami (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Victor Pulgar)
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Undergraduate Online Video Presentations
High Merit
- Underlying Meanings in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Madison Strickland (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Rambo)
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Graduate Online Video Presentations
High Merit
- A Focus on Syphilis in Wake County by Anna Blackshear (Faculty Mentor: Prof. Nathalie Ortiz Pate)
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Art Exhibits
High Merit
- Living Pages by Arianna Aguila (Faculty Mentor: Prof. Dejan Mraovi膰)
Merit
- “Birds Crossing”, a humorous traffic sign, 2023 by Simon Osbourne (Faculty Mentor: Prof. Dejan Mraovi膰)
- Nigerian Flora by Jamari Cannady Pratt (Faculty Mentor: Prof. Dejan Mraovi膰)