DUBOIS – The Third Annual Student and Faculty Research Symposium was held at the close of the spring semester at Penn State DuBois. The event gave undergraduates, graduates, and faculty members the opportunity to present their research and creative accomplishments in academic, professional, or public areas. It is also designed to promote interaction and collaboration between students and faculty. Prizes for the top three presentations were also awarded. First place went to student Lisa Milligan for her presentation on counseling, in the humanities category. Second place was awarded to student Nicole Matve, in the science category. Third place was awarded to student Melinda Marconi in the humanities category.
“The importance of this is to highlight the work that is being done by our students and faculty in all areas,” said symposium organizer and Spanish professor Debora Gill. “This gives students the opportunity to become more global in their experience by seeing the work that is being done outside of their own discipline.”
Open to people in all academic fields at all Penn State campuses, 36 students, and 7 faculty members made presentations at this year’s symposium. The full day conference categorized presentations in two categories: Arts and Humanities, and Science and Math.
Student Melinda Marconi used poetry and photos to characterize the human experience in her presentation, Reflections of Life. Marconi said it was a learning experience, explaining, “Initially I was quite nervous about presenting my work. Once I started, however, things fell into place quite well. I enjoyed watching my audience’s expressions change and listening for reactions as I read my poetry.”
Marconi said the sense of community was obvious during the conference as well. “It was great knowing that I had plenty of people in my session supporting me, both fellow students and professors,” she said.
“The students presenting this year were just fantastic,” said Gill. “They hit it out of the park.”
Steve Harmic, Penn State DuBois