More than 100 students from Southwestern University will showcase their talents on Wednesday, April 14, as the university hosts its 11th annual Student Works Symposium titled “From Every Voice.”

The event begins at 5 p.m. in the Red and Charline McCombs Campus Center. The symposium is an opportunity for students to present research and creative work in a professional atmosphere. The students will show the skills they have acquired in and out of the classroom.

“The Student Works Symposium is a great realm for students to showcase what they have done here at Southwestern,” said Chrissy Vasquez, a junior religion major and program chair for this year’s symposium.

The symposium will include 99 presentations featuring the work of 116 students from 24 disciplines. Students will show their work through a combination of poster presentations, oral presentations, exhibitions and discussions. 

“We hope to provide a positive and comfortable environment for the students to present in and offer an event that will be enjoyable for outsiders,” Vasquez said. 

The symposium allows students to gain valuable experience presenting their research and creative works in a professional environment without having to travel to conferences or other such venues. Several students are using the symposium as an opportunity to prepare for future conferences, though. Psychology majors Whitney Laas, Lauren Margulieux, Kathryn Bollich and Stacy Mathis will get experience presenting their paper on shyness before traveling to Boston in May to present it at a meeting of the Association for Psychological Science. Psychology majors Meagan Anderson and Caitlyn Carnes will get experience presenting their paper on stress before presenting it at the same meeting in Boston.

 

Other student projects range from a study of vocalization in bottlenose dolphins conducted by animal behavior majors Morgan Mingle and Stephanie Henderson to a research project about Southwestern’s name that was conducted by Professor Mary Grace Neville’s Paideia group.

“I have never participated in the Student Works Symposium before so I am excited to present the research my Paideia group has been working on this year,” said senior math and Spanish major Ali Zein-Eldin.

The symposium is free and open to the public. The complete schedule is as follows:

5-6 p.m. - Oral presentations in the McCombs Ballrooms, Roy B. Shilling Jr. Room, Margaret Shilling Room and the Merzbach Room.

6 p.m. - Introductory remarks by Program Chair  Chrissy Vasquez and welcoming remarks by President Jake B. Schrum.

6-7 p.m. - Creative works, exhibitions and poster presentations in the Bishops Lounge

7-8:15 p.m. - Continuation of oral presentations in the McCombs Ballrooms, Roy B. Shilling Jr. Room, Margaret Shilling Room and the Merzbach Room

For more information on the symposium, visit     http://southwestern.edu/academics/studentworks/

–Reese Cisneros ‘10