Hundreds of students and faculty attended the Celebration of Scholarship in the Clark Student Center April 24-25 to support undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty presenting their research.

The event, hosted by the graduate school and the undergraduate research office, allowed students to showcase their research and creative activities through oral and poster presentations.

“It was a good experience. I got to work with a faculty mentor and I’m taking some classes now so working on this just reinforced what I was learning in class. Plus, it’s really beneficial because if we get results from this then we can actually help patients with brain disorders,” Prisca Mbonu, biology junior, said.

Tarrah Miller, biology senior, shared why she chose to participate in the Celebration of Scholarship and what she got out of the experience.

“We participated for the exposure and to get our feet wet in research. It was good to find new information and just expand our knowledge basically. And it was fun just doing the experiment and finding out the possible causes and effects, it was a pretty unique experience,” Miller said.

“We learned how to present and just gained confidence from it, because before we did this it was actually the first time we really presented something. We gained more knowledge of how to work in the lab and utilize the equipment,” Miller said.

Abigail DeLizio, biology junior, also shared why she chose to participate in the event and what she gained from the experience.

“I just wanted to do some research to put on my resume and I talked to one of my professors and he was already doing this,” DeLizio said. “I learned about some higher level stuff that I didn’t know about yet and I also learned to just appreciate research and all it takes to get one little result.”

FROM ATTENDEES

Lonece Carey, finance sophomore | “I got to learn so many new things so that was really good.”

Maura Gibson, biology sophomore | “This kind of research going on here is way different than I thought, so it turns it out my own classmates are doing way more advanced stuff so that’s really encouraging to me.”

Chloe Dunlap, music sophomore | “It was really cool to see what went into their projects and how they’re really invested in it. They obviously care about it a lot so that’s really cool.”

Kristen Logoe, art freshman | “For one oral presentation I had no clue what they were saying but I was like wow they really care about what they’re researching.”

Yary Rodriguez, nursing sophomore | “We’re doing a summer project and this is really helping us with that.”

Sydney Strachan, nursing sophomore | “It gives us an idea of how to set up your poster and present. I think we got a pretty good outline on how to present your research.”

Kayla Guillory, mass communication sophomore | “It was worth attending because I really need this extra credit for my class.”

Gallery • 3 Photos

GALA CONCERT

The Celebration of Scholarship ended with a gala concert played by the Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra conducted by Matthew D. Luttrell.

The concert kicked off with the wind ensemble playing Weiner Philharmoniker Fanfare by Richard Strauss. The symphony orchestra continued to play Four Scottish Dance, Op. 59

The symphony orchestra dedicated the piece, Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar, to Associate Professor of Education Angela Cartwright.

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs James Johnston announced the awards for student presentations during a brief intermission.

The gala concert finished with guest piano soloist, Martin Camacho, playing Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op.18 by Sergi Rachmaninoff.

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Guest soloist Martin Camacho plays the piano at the Celebration of Scholarships Gala Concert April 25 in the Akin Auditorium Photo by Taylor Anderson

GRADUATE AWARDS

Best Graduate Student Podium Presentation
Herbert McCullough
for “Unveiling Citizenship and Immigration in Canada v. Zunera Ishaq”
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Linda Veazey and Dr. Steve Garrison
Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department
of Political Science

Best Graduate Student Poster Presentation
Dora Williams
for “Septic Arthritis”
Faculty Mentor: Ms. Vicki Sanders
Gunn College of Health Sciences & Human Services, Department of
Radiologic Sciences

 UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS

McCoy College of Science, Mathematics and Engineering
Poster:
1 st Place

Johnny Cognasi, Jason Perkins, Joseph Randall, Melani Ronoh
McCoy College of Science, Mathematics and Engineering, McCoy School of Engineering
A Pulley Based Movable Apparatus for the Biology Department

2 nd place
Jenom Pyeng, Jedesh Chandrasegaran, Gayal Hewakuruppu, Tapiwa Gasseler
McCoy College of Science, Mathematics and Engineering, McCoy School of Engineering
Dynamic Filtration Test Experiments Design

Gunn College of Health Sciences and Human Services
1 st Place
Wenica Brodie, Pollyann Bethel
Gunn College of Health Sciences & Human Services
The Psychological Impact of Death and Dying on Health Care Students

2 nd Place Tie
Jacob Spicer, Caleb Castillo, Jordan O’Neal
Gunn College of Health Sciences & Human Services, Department of Respiratory Care
Lung Transplants: Are They Worth It?
AND
Kaelen Vazquez
Gunn College of Health Sciences &Human Services, Wilson School of Nursing
Exploration of the Nurse Perceptions of Interprofessional Communication in Emergency Trauma Care

Dillard College of Business Administration
1 st Place
Taylor McCreary
Dillard College of Business Administration, Department of Management, Marketing, & Legal
Studies
The emotion behind how they built it: A comparative study of how diverse entrepreneurs express emotion while describing their entrepreneurial journey

Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities and Social Sciences
1 st Place
Ryan Lee
Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Longitudinally Evaluating Long Term Efficacy of a Sexual Assault Educational Training
Program

2nd Place
Kara Vieth, Anissa Flores,
Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Student Perceptions and Reactions Toward their Peers’ Academic Dishonesty on Campus

West College of Education
1st Place
Carl Joseph Alfert
West College of Education, Department of Curriculum & Learning
Three Phase Teacher Success Strategy Training Program: Persona Development, Entrepreneur Skills, and Emotional Labors

Oral Presentations:

Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities and Social Sciences
1 st Place
Amanda Threlkeld
Viola Liuzzo: The Ice Breaker to Gender Stereotypes

2nd Place:
Nathan Endo
Black Diamonds in the Eye of Texas: Organized Labor and Management Tactics in the
Newcastle Coalfield

McCoy College of Science, Mathematics and Engineering
1st place

Joshua Washington, Carson Conrady
Robot Soccer Using Artificial Intelligence

2nd place
Bethany Ann Russell
Reducing Chromosomal Antibiotic Resistance in E. coli

Dillard College of Business Administration
1st Place
Federica Bove
Commercial Real Estate Lending among Community Banks: An Empirical Assessment

2nd Place
Kaushik Shah
Hyperledger/Blockchain and Fraud: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Fain College of Fine Arts
1st Place
Sterling Ellison, Michelle Bloxham, Samantha Locke, Clayton Keck
Guardians of the Children

2nd Place
Ara Washburn, Tyler Manning, Emily Simmons, Daria Panferova
Napa, Texas

Interdisciplinary:
Kara Vieth, Anissa Flores
Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Student Perceptions and Reactions Toward their Peers’ Academic Dishonesty on Campus

Most Creative:
Kara Vieth, Anissa Flores
Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Student Perceptions and Reactions Toward their Peers’ Academic Dishonesty on Campus