November 27, 2023
Eighteen students from Pearl River Community College participated in the Fall 2023 Dr. William Lewis Honors Institute Research Symposium hosted at University of Southern Mississippi’s Thad Cochran Center on Tuesday (Nov. 14).
They gave oral presentations of research conducted covering a variety of topics.
Emily Smith of Petal won first place in oral presentation. Her topic was “Booking It: Analyzing How Technology Has Affected the Historical Role of the Library.”
Jayden Hibbets of Sumrall; was second in oral presentation (A Fulfilling Life? Modern vs. Traditional Lifestyles). Kaleb Kinkopf of Petal was third (Neural Divergence and Gender Identity: Is there a Connection) and Lauren ‘Solis’ Dewease was fourth (De-littering Our Ecosystems).
Another six students presented poster presentations.
Sahil Ajmera of Carriere won first place: (WATTS Next? The Tokamak and Its Future). Sydney Smith was second: Space Juice: The Real-World Application of Space Exploration). Selena Cervantes of Petal was third (What Factors in the Immigration Process Create Mental Health Issues in Adolescents?).
Other poster presentations: Brycelynn Baker of Hattiesburg, Laura “’Blue’ Meyerholtz of Hattiesburg and Kaycee Tanner of Lucedale.
Group two of oral presentations featured students in pairs.
Deamy Alvarado of Hattiesburg and Aidan Rasmussen of Bay St. Louis finished first. Their topic: (Music Diversifies the United States). Second went to the team of Landon DeWitt of Pass Christian and Nicholas Rogers of Petal. Their topic: (Overcriminalization and Decriminalization in the U.S.).
Tied for third were the teams of Naomi Williamson of Poplarville and Kennedy Wilson of Gulfport, and Quinton Barnes of Perkinston and Justin Hamilton of Collins.
Dr. Ryan Ruckel, Dean of the Dr. William Lewis Honors Institute – Forrest County Campus, said the Symposium serves the overall effort to encourage students to engage with undergraduate research by learning how to ask a good question and propose a way of researching the answer to it.
“These students will be able to compete at the Mississippi Honors Conference in February, which is a statewide conference of two-year and four-year schools,” said Dr. Ruckel. “The Dr. William Lewis Honors Institute has participated in the MHC every year, and we have had winners every year.
“USM has also generously offered for the top scorers at the symposium to compete in the undergraduate research symposium at USM in April, where they could win cash prizes.”
Dr. Ruckel and USM’s Dr, Joyce Inman, Dean of the USM Honors College offered opening remarks for those present.
Said Dr. Ruckel: “This event makes it possible for a student to present on a topic they think might be of interest to them, whether it is in a poster or oral presentation, and often discover their career path or major by doing so.”
Judges for this year’s competition included PRCC faculty Dr. Doug Donohue, Chris Christen, Dr. Stan Davis, Jeff Tinnon, Cheri Alder, Lisa Cothern and Dr. Aaryn Purvis.
Dr. Ruckel thanked Dr. Lindsay Lewis and Mary Ann Stewart, PRCC faculty members, for working individually with students to develop their research and presentation skills, and recognized Dr. Jennifer Seal, Dean of the Dr. William Lewis Honors Institute – Poplarville Campus.
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Article by Charles Abadie.
