On Friday, March 25 the OCU Honors Program presented the 2022 Undergraduate Research Day. This is a day organized for undergraduate students to present their research topics. It is sponsored by the Oklahoma City University Honors Program with support from the office of the provost. The Events included: Poster Session in the Honors Hall (Gold Star Building), Performances in the Base Center (B205), and Presentation Sessions in the Gold Star Building. At each of these events, multiple students presented. Each of these presenters had a specific research topic to present and these topics were from various areas of life.
Some examples of topics for the Poster Session included: “Birth Narratives in Matthew and Luke,” presented by Lucie Cooper, “Female Menstrual Cycle and Musculoskeletal Strength,” presented by Kristin Oliphant, and “Teaching the Holocaust,” presented by Bailey Sartain. Examples from the Performances included: “Song for the Weary,” presented by Francesca Savone, and “Breaking the Rules: Mozart’s ‘Il Padre Adorato’” presented by Kristen Olmsted.
The Presentation Session was divided into three areas of research, presented in different locations and at different times. These research areas included: Biological and Computer Sciences, Interdisciplinary Humanities and Fine Arts.
The Biological and Computer Sciences Presentation Session included topics such as: “Assessment of an Unknown Organism,” presented by Lacy Literand “An Analysis of RSA Encryption,” presented by Alex Powell.
The Interdisciplinary Humanities Presentation Session included topics such as: “Expanding Conversations Around Fowler’s Stages of Faith,” presented by Jacob Harrell and “Why We Should Stop Teaching Children Substitutionary Atonement Theology,” presented by Allie McMurry.
Lastly, Fine Arts Presentation Session included topics such as: “Dynamite!: The Soft Power of K-Pop in the Face of Global Powers,” presented by Glory Curda, and “Angelic Troublemakers: Black Classical Musicians Leading up to 1964,” presented by Viviana Goodwin.
On Monday, March 28, students received emails announcing the winners of the 2022 Undergraduate Research Day. The work presented in each category (Posters, performances, and presentations) was assessed by faculty judges. The winner of the poster category was (Jamie Welsh and Austin Worley), who presented “The Mechanisms of Stress and the Body’s Response.”
The winners for the presentations category included: Jacob Harrell, who presented “Expanding Conversations Around Fowler’s Stages of Faith,” for Interdisciplinary Humanities ; Ally Spear, who presented “North American River Otters: Enclosure Usage at the OKC Zoo and Botanical Garden,” for Biological and Computer Sciences; lastly, for Fine Arts there was a tie between Glory Curda, who presented “Dynamite!: The Soft Power of K-Pop in the Face of Global Powers,” and Casey Kassal, who presented “Thought and Free Will: The Characterization of Hamlet in Film.”
The Grand Prize was awarded to Ally Spear, for her presentation on “North American River Otters: Enclosure Usage at the OKC Zoo and Botanical Garden.”
“Studies suggests that undergraduate students engaging in these aspects of research tend to develop ‘soft skills’ at a higher level than students who do not. These soft skills include critical thinking, creativity, and the ability to think holistically and across disciplines of study,” states the university website.
This year’s Undergraduate Research Day was in person compared to last year’s which was remote due to the pandemic.
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