Awards Presented for Best in Class, Top Student-Faculty Collaboration, President's Choice and People's Choice
Nearly 100 students and the faculty members that mentored them displayed their work via posters and other presentation media at Wilmington College’s sixth annual Student/Faculty Research Forum April 27.
(LEFT) Melissa Burwell-Sleem (center) and Nicholle Fiore explain their research titled "Just the Right Angle" to Derek Peters. They researched the stride angles of thoroughbred races horses to determine the correlation between stride angles and winning. Their research showed that great champions like Secretariat and Seattle Slew did indeed have extraordinary stride angles.
The presentations transformed the normally athletics-oriented Fred Raizk Arena in Hermann Count into a strictly academic venue as students, faculty and staff learned about topics ranging from “Childhood Maltreatment and Adult Aggression: Connecting the Dots,” “Wake Up and Taste the Coffee” and “Social Anxiety: Differences in Sex and Demographics” to “A Peaceful March in Violent Times” and “Is the War on Marijuana Worth It?”
Based on the judges’ ratings, student winners were selected for each academic area. In addition, prizes went to the best student/faculty collaboration, the People’s Choice award, and the President’s Choice award.
This year’s Best in Class winners include: Agriculture — Allison Pollard, “Effect of Fabric Row Covers on Red, Yellow, and White Onion Varieties”; Athletic Training — Adeline Roberts, “The Female Athlete Triad: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You”; Business Administration — Melissa Burwell-Sleem and Nicholle Fiore, “Just the Right Angle.”
Also, Biology — Cheyenne Wilson, “Neurotoxicity of Acrylamide and the ‘Dying Back” Process’”; Chemistry — Nina Veite, “The pH Activity of Ionophore-Coated Silver Wire”; Fine Arts/Communication — Samantha Lindnor, “Do Black and White Pictures Bring Out Different Emotions When Compared to Color Photographs?”; Humanities — John Parrett, “The Meaning of Doubting Thomas”; and Social Sciences — Erin Short, “Taking the Hill: Lobbying’s Effect on Political Empowerment and Efficacy.”
The award for Best Student/Faculty Collaboration went to Jamie Kolb for her research, “Mass Casualty Events: Are Certified Athletic Trainers Prepared to Act?” Dr. Erika Goodwin, professor of athletic training and vice president for academic affairs, and Jennifer Walker, associate professor of athletic training, assisted her with the project.
Adeline Roberts also won the President’s Choice Award for her research, “The Female Athlete Triad: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You,” while the People’s Choice Award — recognition voted on by those attending the forum — was presented to Ian Hamilton, Michaela Arehart, Garyck Todd and Jesse Buhrman for their joint research on “Drinking and the Effect on GPA.”
