By Mylo Fisherman
Intellectual curiosity came to life in the presentations of Adelphi’s undergraduate and graduate students, spanning a multitude of disciplines from arts and humanities to natural science and social sciences at the Scholarship and Creative Works Conference known as Research Day on April 26. It was held from noon to 6 pm in the Ruth S. Harley University Center. This annual conference, in its nineteenth year, was a major success with over 70 faculty members and 400 students in attendance.
Anna Mouras (left) and Camila Restrepo (right) in front of their presentation on false statements that occur in court due to individuals being non-native speakers. Photo by Mylo Fisherman
Alexander Heyl, the conference organizer, said the purpose of Research Day is to showcase a variety of Adelphi students’ achievements from history and art to psychology and the sciences.
The Delphian had the opportunity to speak with some of the presenters about their experience being able to present at the event.
Anna Mouras and Camila Restrepo are currently working on research on false statements that occur in court due to individuals being non-native speakers.
Mouras, an Adelphi alumnus who majored in psychology and criminal justice, said, “It was definitely an honor to be given this platform to start my research journey and this experience further expanded my research interest in forensic psychology, which I am pursuing in grad school.”
Restrepo, a sophomore psychology major in the emerging scholars program, added, “Adelphi should continue providing opportunities like this. This is my first time doing something like this and it helps to get your name out there.”
Leena Rizzo, a senior nursing major, conducted research on nursing education during the pandemic. When asked about their opportunity to share their research they stated, “It was fun to be given the opportunity to collaborate with my advisor and conduct this research especially because it was something I was living through.”
Their research touched upon Zoom fatigue and the lack of lab time that nursing students faced during the pandemic and how it affected their overall education and readiness to be in their field of work.
Danial Castro, a senior interdisciplinary major, was showcasing a videogame he was working on. When asked about his product, he said, “This product is definitely something that was a continuous move forward, for the most part. I feel like the purpose of Research Day is to show progress rather than final products.”
This is something that was demonstrated in a handful of presentations during the event. Many individuals were showcasing projects that were in the works and research projects with theorized results with data to be collected.
This year the layout of the conference was altered. Heyl explained, “Combining the sessions allowed everyone to learn about all Adelphi has to offer and allowed everyone to be more actively engaged in the research.”
The event ended with a keynote speaker, Dr. Raven Baxter, also known as Dr. Raven the Science Maven, an internationally acclaimed American educator and molecular biologist known for effortlessly merging science with pop culture. She gave an astounding speech about diversity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. She spoke about how a majority of people know what they want to do from a young age. She spoke fondly about her experiences at space camp, saying that it was one of the fundamental moments in her childhood in relation to her career in science. It was one of the first times she was able to blend science and a sense of play, which is something she does to this day. For instance, she relayed that when it was her time to speak during an emulation space launch, she said, “When you switch to Geico you can save 15 percent or more on car insurance.”
Dr. Raven also discussed her experiences and struggles in college. When she started her college career at 16 she ended up dropping out with a GPA that was less than one. When she went back to community college she had a profound interaction with one of her professors. She was going to participate in a research day similar to this one. However, when she was told to make a presentation on her work without instructions she went to Michael’s and got a hot pink poster board, glitter and feathers. When she showed the presentation to her professor the day before the research conference, he said you can either go to the printing lady by the end of today to make the boring monochrome poster that everyone else will have or don’t come tomorrow. She ended up coming to the research conference with her hot pink poster the next day. Her presentation ended up being a big hit and students who weren’t even in her major were extremely interested in it.
Dr. Raven ended her speech by saying, “It’s important that any opportunity we get we approach head on as authentically ourselves.”