November 20, 2025
Sixteen students from Pearl River Community College participated in the Fall 2025 Dr. William Lewis Honors Institute Research Symposium hosted at University of Southern Mississippi’s Thad Cochran Center on Tuesday (Nov. 18).
They gave oral presentations of research conducted covering a variety of topics.
Savannah Gygi of Galt, Calif., won first place in oral presentation. Her topic was “Bridging the Gap of Mississippi’s Maternal Healthcare Crisis: Collaboration of Hospital and Midwifery Care.”
Jennilyn Overstreet of Hattiesburg was second in oral presentation (The Long Term Impact of Childhood Trauma). Olivia Collum of Hattiesburg was third (Who is Hamid Naderi Yaganeh, and How are Trigonometry and Mathematics Prevalent in Nature and Art?).
Another seven students presented poster presentations.
Diego Sosa of Oak Grove won first place: (How has American Intervention in Latin America Affected Migration to the United States?).
Garrett Holder of Petal was second: (What are the Physics behind Pickleball that make it Popular compared to similar fast-growing sports in the U.S.?). Elliott Booker of Hattiesburg was third (Overall: Artificial Intelligence will mostly Augment, not Automate).
Other poster presentations: Austin Lucas Aultman of Sumrall (How much energy is needed to replicate an Aurora?; Maria Posadas of Hattiesburg (Career Trauma: When Trauma is present, the student may face Hurdles in Coursework); Seth Rhodus of Petal (How is Generative AI misused and what steps have been taken to prevent misuse?); Angie Ventura of Petal (Integrating AI into Ultrasound Obstetrics Sonography can be vital for detecting dangerous Deformations or Conditions or Serious Conditions early, helping to protect both mother and baby) .
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. Rebecca Tuuri, Associate 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, Dr. Jana Causey, Chris Christen, Dr. David Collum, Dr. Melanie Davis, Lauren Grant, Cassie Jackson, Dr. Silvia Preston, Micki Robertson, Dr. Gregory Underwood and Frances Wright.
Dr. Ruckel also thanked Dr. Terri Ruckel – Honors Faculty Support, and recognized Dr. Jennifer Seal, Dean of the Dr. William Lewis Honors Institute – Poplarville Campus.
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Article by Chuck Abadie. Photography by Cullin Rogers.
