Three Pearl River Community College students recently participated in the annual Mississippi Undergraduate Honors Conference hosted this year by the Mississippi University for Women.
The conference, held earlier this month via Zoom, featured PRCC students Sachi Ajmera of Poplarville, Kathryn Scharwath of Oak Grove, and Ryan Wallace of Hattiesburg.
They are all members of the Dr. William Lewis Honors Institute at PRCC.
The conference, entitled, “Back to the Future: Moving Forward with Academic Inquiry,” featured honors students from both two-year and four-year colleges in Mississippi.
Scharwath, a PRCC freshman who is also a Middle College student from Oak Grove High School, placed first among all Community College Oral Presentations.
Her topic: “Debs, Cleveland, and Public: Views of Socialism from the Pullman Strike.” Faculty sponsor was Dr. Ryan Ruckel.
Ajmera’s topic: “How Social Media Creates Political Polarization in America.” Faculty sponsor was Dr. Jennifer Seal.
Wallace’s topic: “What Situations Make UVC an Economically Viable Method to Fight Airborne Pathogens?” Faculty sponsor was Dr. Douglas Donohue.
Dr. Ruckel, Honors Dean at the Forrest County Campus, and Associate Dean at FCC, Dr. Donohue, also attended.
Donohue contributed his expertise in mathematics, statistics, and economics to serve as a judge for the Social Sciences oral presentations.
Mary Ann Stewart, PRCC speech instructor, works with the majority of the Honors students, both at the PRCC Poplarville and Forrest County campuses, to help them develop a presentation suitable for the MUHC.
Honors students have participated in the MUHC since its inception in 2013, which PRCC Honors faculty helped organize, along with other institutions.
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Article written by Chuck Abadie.
