SHU Students Unveil Research at Academic Festival

Event spotlights studies and projects on a range of topics

Sacred Heart University students recently showcased their capstones, senior theses and other research projects at the annual Academic Festival, which took place at West Campus.

The event, which the Committee for Undergraduate Research organizes at the end of each school year, is a chance for students to share and display the studies they conducted during their time at SHU. “What a wonderful opportunity for our students to showcase all their hard work, present the culmination of their ideas and share their research with peers and professors,” said Amanda Moras, associate provost for teaching and learning.

The projects varied greatly by topic. There were presentations related to sports, psychology, business, design and visual and graphic arts. Students also shared research focused on gender, race and class, as well as politics, ethics and social sciences.

One display, “Think Before You Speak: Examining the Impact of Ageist Labels on Perceptions of Older Adults,” presented a compilation of research that will be used to examine how different labels affect perceptions of senior citizens. The students responsible for the project were psychology majors Samantha Cavalea ’24, Devin McCarthy ’23, Nicole Badia ’23, Nicole Alvira ’23, Maria Pandolfo ’23 and neuroscience major Victoria Frederico ’23.

The students’ work calls for a study that will begin soon, after most of the project participants have graduated. “We just got approval, so our research will start next semester [with a new group of students], and they’ll continue the project,” said Badia.

Another project, “The Psychology Behind the Lack of Female CEOs,” examines how women achieve success despite gender bias, historical disadvantages, the glass ceiling phenomenon and gender stereotypes. Isabella Scarmack ’23 conducted the research after observing limited diversity and an underrepresentation of women in corporate America’s executive-level positions.

“There were ideas in the past that a leader had to have more male traits because a female’s traits had more follower characteristics. But now we’re circling this idea that leaders don’t need to be assertive and aggressive; people also prefer those who have community-based, encouraging and caring aspects," Scarmack said.

Prizes were awarded for best writing, multidisciplinary research and collaboration, visual appeal, creativity, scholarly impact and technology prototype. The provost’s prize was also awarded. To see the list of winners, visit the Academic Festival webpage.