Students Reveal Research Results at Academic Festival
Winners of the annual Writing across the Curriculum Prize announced during the event
Sacred Heart University students showcased their hard work and talents at the annual academic festival April 29.
More than 250 students presented their capstone and senior thesis projects at West Campus, and 139 poster projects were on display as well. While honor students must participate in the event, any student who signed up was welcome to take part.
“I think it is amazing that SHU hosts its very own academic festival to pay tribute to the year of hard work that we students put in every day. I appreciate having such a supportive school that celebrates academic and intellectual achievements,” said Tomas Koeck ’22.
Students uploaded their work on April 20 for consideration. Showcase coordinator Amanda Moras, associate provost for teaching and learning, said that some judging occurred in advance, but not all. While the visual projects were judged in person at the academic festival, faculty members who judged the papers that were submitted read them in advance of the event, to give them sufficient time for review.
“Today is such an amazing day, as we get to celebrate the hard work, ingenuity and perseverance of our students,” Moras said.
The Writing across the Curriculum prize committee announced the winning papers of the 2022 competition in person at the festival. Katie Calliguri earned first place for “Mental Health & Collegiate Athletes,” submitted for consideration by Suzanne Marmo, assistant professor of social work. Linnea Caraballo won second place with “Quaternion Rotation: A Mathematical Journey to the Fourth Dimension,” submitted by Tina Romansky, math instructor. Michael Morelli took third place with “OCD in Film, Representation, Humor, and Harm,” submitted by Abby Bender, assistant lecturer in languages and literature.
Honorable mentions in the writing prize competition went to: Erica Juliano for “The STEM Gap: Women from Low Socio-Economic Backgrounds are Underrepresented in Stem Fields,” submitted by Brian Stiltner, professor of philosophy, theology and religious studies, and Charles Gillespie, assistant professor of Catholic studies; Sophie Pindrys for “The Lorenz System,” submitted by Elliott Bertrand, assistant professor of mathematics; and Emma Riccardi for “Bridgerton, Race, and Austenian Afterlives,” submitted by Bender.
“We have been working on our senior portfolio this entire semester. This is about picking the best projects, making new ones and perfecting our work to create a solid portfolio for eventual job interviews,” said Madison Larstanna ’22, who found that the festival was great preparation for her career search.