A record number of Missouri Valley College students presented Monday at the Spring 2023 Student Research Symposium. The symposium, now in its 7th year, featured the academic, creative, and professional work of nearly 140 students.

Several students earned awards this semester:

-Best poster went to Julio Otto Marge Eichemberger for “Excessive Smartphone Use & Mental Health Among College Students”.
-Best creative work was presented to Lindsey Curtis for “Descent from Eden: Female Trauma and Healing”.
-There was a tie for best presentation between Sidni Hunter’s two presentations “Incels: The Internet’s Newest Form of Terrorism” and “The Kantian Dilemma – How a Hierarchy of Rationality Limits Understandings of Morality”.

-Ana Arroyo Carriedo was the winner of the Loren Gruber Endowed Honors Thesis Award for “Agrobacterium Mediated Transformation of Drosero binata and Nicotiana tabacum Using GFP Gene.”

-The Purple Patch Editor’s Choice awards included: Alyandina Bushe for nonfiction with “The Real Hawaii”; Harrison Boynton for fiction with “Those Who Call”; Cuauhtemoc (Temo) Olvera for poetry with “Biscuits and Gravy 1”; and Chane Higgo for visual art with “The Wonder Dog.”

-The winner of the best graduate presentation was Valentina Cardoso Rodriguez for her graduate capstone project “Solution-Focused Brief Therapy with An Abuse Survivor.” The People’s Choice Award went to McKenna Beeler for “Emotional Intelligence’s Relationship to Burnout Among Collegiate Athlete’s Participating in Team Sports.”

-Honorable mentions for poster went to Sade Wright for “Music Preference Study,” Matias Marquiera for “How Does Cannabis Affect College Students” and Olivia Martin for “The Iowa Gambling Task.”

-Honorable mentions for creative work went to Jenasyn Baker for “Mary Wigman – Modern Dance II Project” and Kristin Boynton for her chapter reading from A Reason to Kill.

-Honorable mentions for presentation went to Seth Carter for “Positive and Negative Queer Representations: An Analysis of South Park” Vitor Furiati for “Business Analysis – Volleyball Club” and Camden Phillips for “Weaponitis: Modern Strains of an Age-Old Disease.”

-Pamela Zuluaga received an honorable mention for her graduate capstone project: “Person-Centered Therapy When Questioning Gender Identity.”

-In the People’s Choice category, honorable mentions went to Beni Kabongo for “Belight” and Dahah Robinson for “Stigmatization of Medical Cannabis.”

The Fall 2023 Student Research Symposium is set for December 4. To learn more about the Missouri Valley College Student Research Symposium, visit moval.edu.