Students and faculty join together in academic fellowship and discovery.

Stetson University held its annual Showcase on Undergraduate Research and Creative Arts Symposium on April 12, bringing students and faculty together in academic fellowship and discovery.

Having started in 1999, Showcase is a tradition designed to recognize student achievement at Stetson. Students have the opportunity to share their research projects with the Stetson community, engage with their peers and be rewarded for the academic integrity of their projects.

The projects presented at Showcase 2016 displayed a diverse range of topics that crossed most academic lines of disciplines.

Ilana Brodzki, senior psychology major, presented “Are body image ideals shifting to a lean body type? A study of body ideals in men and women.” Brodzki’s senior research analyzed the psychology of body dissatisfaction based on gender. Typically, men desire muscularity while women strive for thinness, which leads to the potential development of eating disorders. However, Brodzki’s research expands on the less studied construct of leanness, finding that the desire for a lean and toned body is a shared want between both men and women from the ages of 18 to 30.

The Hand Art Center became home to a number of installations made by Stetson’s digital arts students. Showcase featured projects ranging from albums and video games, to an artistic panorama representative of the range of what digital arts can do.

Jean Paul Menegolo created an album titled Cross the Sea geared toward breaking down the stereotypes of metal music. Monica Wolski’s The Collection took an informative approach to sound and media in order to reveal the damaged state of Florida beaches due to pollution. She cataloged her beach journey through video, photography and sound to emulate her experiences and remind us of humanity’s influence on the environment.

In addition to academic presentations, Showcase also featured several School of Music junior recitals, held in Lee Chapel inside Elizabeth Hall. The morning program featured Cole Bushman on clarinet, Ryan Morrison on horn, and vocal performances by Maggie Nicks and Marcus Jones. The afternoon program featured Lyndall Vickers on guitar, Omar Lawan on trombone, Paula Bekker on flute and Ashley King, soprano.

Jennifer Blackmer, award-winning playwright and associate professor of theater and director of Immersive Learning at Ball State University, was the keynote speaker at the awards banquet at day’s end. As the 2016 Grady Ballenger Lecturer for this special occasion, Blackmer spoke on “All the World’s a Laboratory: What the Sciences and Humanities Can Learn from the Performing Arts.”

Judging for the awards was based on effectiveness of the communication and the overall quality of presentation. The judges were comprised of professors (current and retired), staff and community leaders. All winners were awarded a Maris prize of $200 and a certification of excellence. Honorable mentions in each category were also announced.

Poster I – Maris Winners:

• Kristen Meiler- Effect of salinity on embryonic Axolotl development

• Nicole Rivera-Montañez- The Effects of Presentation Modality and Meaningfulness on Memory Recall

• Honorable Mention:

o Jozefina Logu “All About Pleasure”: Potential User Responses to Female Condom – Video

Poster II – Maris Winner:

• Jordan Cockfield Flaxseed Lignan, Enterolactone, Found To Induce Apoptosis in Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma Cells

• Honorable Mentions:

o Audry Cherin and Fidel Vazquez Lung Cancer Hospitalization & Mortality in Volusia: A County and Sub-County Overview of Death Rates & Financial Costs of Hospitalizations Due to Lung Cancer

o Carolina Perez-Tobon, Justin Baggs, Jada Scott  Neighborhood jurisdictional boundaries and community health, the case of Spring Hill

Posters III – Maris Winner:

• Alexandra Lyubimova Fewer activated neurons in the hippocampus of rats exposed to a higher fat and refined sugar diet

• Honorable Mentions:

o Isabella and Victoria Riera “The nuclei that bind: The role of the endopiriform nucleus and the claustrum in the processing of taste information

Arts – Maris Winner:

• Erin McCollum Imperious

• Honorable Mentions:

o Jean Paul Menegolo Cross the Sea

o Danielle Grisham Generic Princess

Music – Maris Winner:

• Paula Bekker, Flute

• Honorable Mention:

o Lyndall Vickers, Guitar

Session A – Maris Winner:

• Cameron Black Offense Plus Defense Equals Evolution: How Did the National Basketball Association Evolve into a Cultural and Economic Icon from 1970-2000?

• Honorable Mention:

o Jill Crotty Small Fish, Big Pond:  An Analysis of Trends in the Independent Book Publishing Industry

Session B – Maris Winner:

• Kaley Fulton Preventing Radicalization: Civil Society Inclusion and Political Representation as Tools for Preventing Extremist Violence

• Honorable Mention:

o Hannah Dean Toward an Inclusive Ethic of Difference: An Alternative Look at Animal Rights

Session C – Maris Winner:

• Jordan Madio Potential Relationship between Septic Tank Density and Nitrogen and Phosphorus Concentrations in Lake Water in Volusia County, Florida

• Honorable Mention:

o Michael Galvez  Starfall: An Experience in Reality Immersion Theatre

Session D – Maris Winner:

• Luis Garcia The Learned Ladies: Recreating 17th Century Lighting

• Honorable Mention:

o Miranda Camp Can Anyone Be A Scientist? Exploring the Role Of Citizen Science In Coral Reef Research

Session E – Maris Winner:

• Tabitha Petri Restoration of sandhill ecosystems: The importance of soil fungi on the growth of a native perennial, Liatris tenuifolia

• Honorable Mention:

• Benjamin Chase – The effect of chronic herbivory on floral volatile production in Passiflora incarnata: A bioassay with honeybees

Winner of the Johnson Freshman Research Prize was announced: Sylwia Jurkowski. Also, the recipients of the SURE (Stetson Undergraduate Research Experience) Grant for 2016 were announced. They are: Minh Thu Alice Ma, Melaina Cartwright-Mills, Rebecca Herron, Cara Brisson, Sean McKnight, Marisa Gomez, Emma Schaefer, Anna Thornton, Jennifer Mondelli, Victoria Grupp, Donna-Jael Paredes, Nicholas Fuller, James Russo and Naser Mubarak.

by Veronica Faison

with contributions from Anna Chun and David Baker