The winners of the 2021 Undergraduate Research Day were announced March 23.
Erik Heine, assistant director of the honors program, said Undergraduate Research Day is an annual competition sponsored by the Honors Program.
“It’s a day that occurs every spring semester where the entire campus community, faculty, students, and staff has the opportunity to celebrate the original and creative work undertaken by undergraduate students at OCU,” Heine said.
Undergraduate Research Day is usually an in-person event where students give presentations, but due to COVID-19 protocols, Heine said this year’s competition was online and consisted of pre-recorded presentations.
In the Humanities/Social Science category, Rebekah Small won for her project titled “Beloved Disciple of the Beloved Child? Identifying the Mysterious Figure of Jesus’ Affection.”
For the Performing Arts category, Sarah Schulz won for her project titled “The Five Stages of Grief and Recording Attributes in Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’”
In the Health/Natural Science category, Elizabeth Gwartney won for her project titled “Novel Antibiotics from Oklahoma Soil.” Additionally, Chassiti Oglesby and McKenzie McCoy won for their project titled “A Comparison of Protein Intake Among Male and Female NAIA Collegiate Athletes” for Lightning Presentations.
Heine said the prizes are cash rewards. Category winners typically receive $150, and the Grand Prize winner receives an additional $250, while students who submit pieces typically receive $50 each.
Heine said he enjoys seeing all of the students’ presentations.
“My favorite part of the process is getting to see the final products and have the opportunity to interact with students, particularly in person,” he said. “This year, that isn’t possible, but it’s been a joy to see all of the presentations, and I think it’s a testament to how hard our students work and the high quality of original work done in disciplines across OCU.”
Elizabeth Gwartney, biomedical science junior, was awarded the Grand Prize by earning the highest average score. Gwartney said she was surprised when she found out she had won.
“I was surprised actually because I wasn’t expected to win,” she said. “I knew that my research was interesting but to be going up against people from the performing arts and the social sciences, there’s just a lot of really cool research on campus. It was really cool and validating that my research is important.”
Gwartney said she began her project as a requirement for a class.
“I took honors microbiology my sophomore year, and as a part of that class, we designed our research project and executed it, and you’re only required to do it for one semester, but I really enjoyed mine so I kept doing it,” she said.
Gwartney said presenting at Undergraduate Research Day is the first step in her journey to presenting for larger groups. She is planning to present her research at conventions for the National Collegiate Honors Council, an international educational organization, in October, and Beta Beta Beta, the national biological honor society, in April.
The abstracts and presentations are available to view at the undergraduate research day page on the OCU website.
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