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Sarah Witte '09 presented her Spanish capstone project, La mujer y el feminism contra el hombre y la sociedad |
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Students from the FYE course Physics and Economics of Sport developed new sports. Here, students demonstrate "Schponglaball," a fusion of dodge ball, baseball, tennis, lacrosse and the art of balancing. |
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Brittany Thomas '11 presented research on Randolph-Macon College: Its Boydton, Virginia Beginnings |
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Will Carroll '09 constructed a wind-turbine (above) in conjunction with his research. The prototype for the project was
made of soda cans. |
On Friday, May 15 2009, Randolph-Macon College held its annual Research Day. This outstanding program is a campus-wide event that represents the culmination of student research efforts, including senior and honors theses, as well as course and program projects. It also affords first-year students, all of whom participate in the college's First-Year Experience (FYE) program, the opportunity to create meaningful culminating projects that reflect their year-long, integrated academic experience. Research Day activities include poster sessions, research presentations, seminars, video projects, drama presentations and more.
Students from all disciplines participate in Research Day. For example:
- Meagan Moore '10, a French and English major, presented her research on Dichotomy in Depictions of Women in Victorian France and England.
- Melissa Rodriguez '09, a Spanish major, presented
Desensitizing the Reader: Violence in Gabriel García
Márquez’s Crónica de una muerta anunciada and Ernesto Sabato’s El túnel.
- Jeremy Robinson '09, an international studies major, presented
The Challenge of Iranian Nuclear Proliferation.
- First-Year Experience students Nathan Beall, Helena Shadid, and Katherine Rendon
presented Electrical Fields in Wound Healing.
- Jillian Dixon '09, a biology and math major, presented The effects of larval food concentration on postmetamorphic
growth and survival in the green sea-urchin,
Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis.
- Will Carroll '09, an environmental studies major, presented Low-Cost Savonius Wind Turbine: A Study. The prototype for Carroll's wind-turbine was made out of soda cans.
- Students enrolled in the FYE course Physics and Economics of Sports invented their own sports and demonstrated them. Adam Desgain '12, Courtney Wade '12, Sara Van Dyke '12, Mark Josey '12, Brianna Lovell '12 and Jake Leddy '12 invented "Schponglaball," a fusion of dodge ball, baseball, tennis, lacrosse and the art of balancing. Professors William Franz and Steven Lang teach the course.
Students in the FYE course Identity: Me, Myself, and I; We, You, and Them presented their autobiographies in the form of five-minute self-produced films. Each film was creative and entertaining. The students explored their life stories and why they chose to come to Randolph-Macon College. Professors Joe Mattys and Kristen Klaaren teach this unique FYE course.
• Anna Maria Diaz ’12 focused on her desire to become a successful actress. She shared her struggle with having to decide whether to enroll at R-MC or The Conservatory of the Arts. She ultimately decided to attend R-MC in order to get a quality liberal arts education.
• Shenochia Jordan ’12 shared her experiences working as a professional model and her desire to become a successful entertainer. She decided to enroll at R-MC because her parents always stressed the importance of education. She also feels that an R-MC degree will be helpful if she decides to pursue a career that is not in the entertainment field.
The music department also gave several presentations, including one in conjunction with its Recording Techniques class. A half-dozen students set up speakers on the historic campus in front of Old Chapel and played music from their multi-track recording projects. Professor Roland Karnatz and Artist-in-Residence Bill McElroy teach the course.
• J.D. Jump ’09 is a drama and music industry double major. He hopes to use the recording techniques he learned in a religious worship setting. He says, ”Hands-on opportunities are greater for students at R-MC because it’s a small school." He was excited to work on the recording project in a professional studio and with a professional designer. He continues, “At R-MC, you can do it all.”
• Laura Eister ’09 has been playing the piano since she was eight years old and writing her own music since her senior year of high school. This was her first time in a professional studio and the first time she had recorded her own music. Eister is a philosophy major and hopes to work in healthcare or the music industry. Laura chose to come to R-MC because of “the small school experience and how closely you get to work with professors.” Not to mention her dad, sister and brother are proud R-MC alumni.
Some of the students involved in Research Day did so in conjunction with the college’s unique Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. SURF was introduced in 1995 as an endowment to support scholarly undergraduate research by Randolph-Macon College students in all disciplines. The initial gift for the program was made by Benjamin Schapiro ’64 and his wife Peggy, whose continued generosity provides R-MC students with the opportunity to conduct original research under the guidance of a faculty member.
Students are paid a stipend and many present their findings at academic and professional conferences both nationally and internationally. This level of in-depth research is usually reserved for graduate students. SURF projects have helped set R-MC students apart when applying for graduate school and finding work in a chosen career field. The SURF program is co-directed by R-MC Professors Serge Schreiner, Ph.D. (chemistry) and Kelly Lambert, Ph.D. (psychology).
For a complete schedule of the 2009 Research Day events, click
here:
For more information on R-MC’s First-Year Experience program, visit
http://www.rmc.edu/why-rmc/FYE/index.aspx