April 25, 2023
Students from Pearl River Community College recently participated in the Spring 2023 Dr. William Lewis Honors Institute Research Symposium hosted at the Forrest County Campus.
Each spring semester, the Honors Institute Research Symposium makes it possible for freshmen students to present the very beginning of an idea to research that over the next year will evolve into something worthwhile.
“We have had great success with this model to the extent that every year we have students place in the Mississippi Honors Conference,” said Dr. Ryan Ruckel, Dean, of the Dr. William Lewis Honors Institute.
“Even this year, we have Kathryn Scharwath competing along with Andrew Purvis and Honor Elchos at the USM Research Symposium alongside university students.”
Students gave oral and postal presentations in front of faculty and students covering a variety of topics in the areas of STEM, Social Science, and Humanities.
Oral presentations included:
Kathryn Scharwath of Oak Grove: Jesus, Anti-Semitism, and the Church.
Emily Smith of Petal: Libraries – What is Technology’s Historical Influence on the library.
Noah Taylor of Hattiesburg: Electric and gas-powered vehicles.
Poster presentations included:
Carlo Catlett of Hattiesburg: How prompt-based AI is changing the game.
Sydney Smith of Hattiesburg: Can we time travel through a black hole.
Quinton Ward of Hattiesburg: Neuro-divergent vs. S.T.E.M.
Scharwath, Emily Smith, Sydney Smith and Ward are Middle College students at PRCC.
Said Dr. Ruckel, “The Spring Symposium offers us the opportunity to encourage students toward academic research. Faculty and students got to ask questions and make constructive comments that could change the lives of these students, as well as helping them become more competitive in the future.”
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Article and photography by Chuck Abadie.
