The Center for Undergraduate Excellence will be hosting the Fall 2021 Virtual Student Scholar Symposium on Wednesday, December 1, 2021. The symposium will have separate poster and oral sessions with students from a wide-range of disciplines highlighting their research, creative activity, visual arts, and more! 

Research and creative activity is a fundamental aspect of a student’s academic journey at a University. With this in mind, the Center for Undergraduate Excellence hosts the Student Scholar Symposium every semester in order to provide opportunities for undergraduates to thrive and expand their knowledge and creative accomplishments. The symposium celebrates the breadth and depth of scholarly research and creative exploration by Chapman University undergraduate students. Friends, family, and faculty are encouraged to attend this event showcasing the wonderful works of their colleagues.

Yoobeen Lee (’23)

Yoobeen Lee (‘23), Psychology Major, reflects on her first experience presenting at the symposium and the different things it has taught her about scholarly presentations. “Although I only have experience presenting virtually, I learned a lot throughout the process. I now know what to expect during scholarly symposium events, such as the type of questions and critiques people provide, and how to prepare, for example writing and submitting abstracts or preparing posters and presentations.” Lee further added, “I got to learn about other students’ works and have them provide me feedback and more insight into how I can improve my research.” Lee highlights how the symposium is a place where she can be both a teacher and a student, conveying her difficult research to different audiences while learning from fellow undergraduate researchers on how to expand her work.

 

Emily Wong (’22)

Students also gain valuable skills that will ultimately benefit them in any career they decide to pursue. Emily Wong (‘22), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major, explains how the symposium has helped her feel prepared for her future. “The symposium has helped me adapt to different audiences. Everyone comes from a different background in their field of study, so depending on the audience I have to adapt and change how I present, whether that be simplifying it or going into more details. I will definitely be giving more presentations in the future whether that be for graduate school or for future conferences and by being able to adapt, I’ll be able to better engage with my audience.”

Lauren Bramlett (’23)

Feeling intimidated by the idea of presenting your work to different faculty and colleagues is natural, but this certainly should not stop any students from deciding to present at any future conferences. Lauren Bramlett (‘23), a double major in Dance Performance and English Literature, Rhetoric, and Culture Studies, gives advice to fellow students who are contemplating whether research or presentations are for them. “The Student Scholar Symposium is an opportunity to dip your toes into research and/or creative activity without committing to a long-term project. It’s a great way to see what you’re interested in, what format of presentation is conducive to your field of study, what other types of projects are out there, and whether research conferences are invigorating to you.” Bramlett further adds, “the stakes are low enough that it isn’t aggressively anxiety-inducing, though of course that varies for everyone, but are high enough that you walk away with valuable insight and feeling accomplished for engaging in a scholarly community. It’s an awesome opportunity for meeting other student scholars or connecting to potential faculty mentors!” Bramlett first presented at the symposium to expand on a course project encouraged by her professor and explains how it was a great entry point to research for her.

 

If you are interested in attending, the link to the event page is located on the CUE webpage. The event will take place on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, from 9AM-5:30PM.

Interested in applying for future fellowship, scholarship, and grant opportunities? Make sure to follow us on facebook and instagram for updates and more information. Or email us at cue@chapman.edu