Hastings College’s annual Celebration of Excellence, an event that recognizes high achievement by students and faculty, is moving online this week.
The Academic Showcase portion of the event, which features more than 20 research, academic and other presentations by students across a variety of academic disciplines, is available at hastings.edu/as.
On that webpage, viewers can read research abstracts, view posters and watch videos students submitted of themselves giving their presentation or discussing their poster.
Academic Showcase is sponsored, organized and managed by the Hastings College Alpha Chi, a national college honor society.
Presentations for the 2020 Academic Showcase are listed below and most are available now, with others being added during the week.
The second portion of Celebration of Excellence is the College’s annual Honors Convocation, which is set for 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 3 — streaming simultaneously on the College’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Viewers can tune in on their smart TVs, mobile devices or tablets with the appropriate apps.
During Honors Convocation, students and faculty are recognized for their achievements throughout the academic year. Awards, which are kept secret until the event, will be announced by faculty and students via pre-recorded videos.
Honors Convocation is also when the Who’s Who and Bronco Award recipients are announced.
Established in 1924, the Bronco Award is the College’s highest non-academic award granted to students. Recipients of the award and the accompanying Who’s Who list are determined through a vote of their peers and a student-faculty committee.
2020 Academic Showcase Presentations
- Curious Case of Serine Biosynthesis: Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of Metabolic Reprogramming on Cancer Aggressiveness by Robert Hernandez, a biochemistry major from Salinas, California.
- “But I saw it on TV?”: A rhetorical analysis of sexual assault narratives on Grey’s Anatomy by Samantha Burke, a communication studies major from Denver, Colorado.
- Lahinch Lassies: Hastings College Becomes Galway Girls by Samantha Burke, a communication studies major from Denver, Colorado; Emma Redinger, a communication studies and digital design and development major from Hastings, Nebraska; Delany Feezell, a studio art major major from Walla Walla, Washington; Mackenzie Waltemath, a business administration and strategic communications major from Omaha, Nebraska; and Morgan Stromer, a studio art major from Bladen, Nebraska.
- Shrinking Icons: Raising Awareness of Modern Day Celebrity Wasting Syndrome by Courtney Hanson, a communication studies and philosophy and religion major from Brookings, South Dakota; and Alli Kennon, a communication studies major from Spicer, Minnesota.
Ganar o perder; Latino Candidates in a Post Obama America by Brook McCurdy, a political science and sociology major from Lexington, Nebraska. - Design, construction and testing of an ultra-open acoustic meta material by Joe Jahn, a physics and math major from Columbus, Nebraska.
- Trouble Afar: Hidden Crisis of Sexual Violence Overseas by Alli Kennon, a communication studies major from Spicer, Minnesota.
- Fractional Calculus by Joe Jahn, a physics and math major from Columbus, Nebraska.
- Plantable Portraits by Becky Cox, a biology major from Blue Hill, Nebraska.
- Attempting to End Fat-Shaming by Fat-Shaming? by Courtney Hanson, a communication studies and philosophy and religion major from Brookings, South Dakota.
- Synthesis of a linear 6,6’-biazulenic pi-linker terminated with mercapto junctions by Lauren Feden, a chemistry and studio art major from Papillion, Nebraska.
- Beyond the printing bed: a discussion of large-scale woodcut techniques by Lauren Feden, a chemistry and studio art major from Papillion, Nebraska.
- Cinderella Who?: Expanding Children’s Understanding of Diversity through Multicultural Children’s Literature by Jordanna McCauley, a accounting and communication studies major from Trenton, Nebraska; Chloe Carson, a marketing and communication studies major from Eagan, Minnesota; and Dani Lizarraga, a health systems and sociology major from Denver, Colorado.
- Six Feet Away by Amelia Amicarella, a history and theatre arts major from Littleton, Colorado; Greer Anderson, a theatre arts and communication studies major from Colorado Springs, Colorado; Kiley Logan, a elementary education major from Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Basil Rabayda, a theatre arts major from Phoenix, Arizona.
- “I Do Wanna Talk About It”: Using narrative to destigmatize forms of termination by Jadah Morrison, a communication studies major from Chaska, Minnesota.
- White Women and Slavery: A Hidden History of White Supremacy by Natalie Watson, a criminology major from Franklin, Tennessee.
- The Implications of Public Policy on Cultural Identity by Emma Redinger, a communication studies major from Hastings, Nebraska.
- Biodegradable Chitin Based “Plastic” Utilized as a Plant Fertilizer by Brittany Rutt, a biochemistry major from Hastings, Nebraska.
- Hammock Henge: Creating a new outdoor space on the HC Campus by Emma Downing, a history major from Colorado Springs, Colorado; Max Griffel, a history major from Papillion, Nebraska; Savanah Ellis, a studio art and international relations major from Beaver City, Nebraska; and Ashley Pedersen, a special education and elementary education major from Pierce, Nebraska.
- The Impact of Teaching Methods on Student Perceptions of Learning in Online Biology Courses by Emily Grant, a biology and communication studies major from Columbus, Nebraska.
- Fly Little Bird, Fly: Using Social Penetration Theory to Examine Mentoring Relationships in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program in the Life Sciences by Emily Grant, a biology and communication studies major from Columbus, Nebraska.
- Composing Background Music for Academic Achievement by Jessica Trad, a english major from Hewitt, Wisconsin.
- The Development of Zoos and Zookeeping by Ian DeBoer, a wildlife biology major from Bennington, Nebraska.
Hastings College is Nebraska’s premier private college. A four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement, Hastings’ student-centered initiatives include providing books, an iPad and a two-week study away experience at no additional cost. A block-style semester schedule allows professors and students to focus on fewer classes at a time and promotes hands-on experiences. Discover more at hastings.edu.
