Students gain knowledge through conferences, symposiums and other creative work
Northeast Regional Honors Conference
Westfield State Honors Program students traveled by train this past April to Niagara Falls, N.Y., to participate in the Northeast Regional Honors Council (NRHC) conference.
Representing 18 different majors and minors, students shared presentations from “Advertising and Women” to “Music Therapy: Self Identification through Music.” Students also participated in art shows.
According to nrhchonors.org, the NRHC is an organization of students, faculty and administrators dedicated to the encouragement and support of undergraduate honors learning.
Vanessa Holford Diana, Ph.D., professor of English and assistant director of the Honors Program, says the University is very proud of its students’ research and creative work. “We’re proud of the fact that Westfield State brought one of the largest groups of students to the conference, she says.
“This conference provided students with valuable experience presenting their work to fellow honors students from the region and their professors,” she says. “They learned from fellow students’ presentations. They explored the region on various ‘City as Text’ outings intended to study Niagara Falls (both U.S. and Canadian sides) through the lenses of various disciplines, from environmental science to history, economics to geography, photography to tourism and leisure studies.”
Dr. Diana wrote a story about NRHC for the Honors Program newsletter, The Squirrel Squire. In it, she gathered student responses, including this one from Jen Daltorio ’15: “Going to the conference reaffirmed that my interest in advertising history and its social impacts is important, and it’s something others are invested in as well.”
Jessica Coons ’15 said, “I knew I cared about my work, but it wasn’t until another student asked for my research that I realized that other people care about it too, and that it’s something I should be proud of.”
In addition to Daltorio and Coons, participating students were Chelsea Baker ’15; Lauren Denio ’14; Hillary Duda ’15; Jeanette Fleck ’15; Cassandra Forsman ’14; Nicole Godard ’15; Thomas Hebert ’14; Elizabeth Horne ’16; Connor Jackson ’16; Lauren Joyce ’14; James Madigan ’15; Cassidy Moran ’17; Lyndon Seitz ’14; Kelly Steele ’16; Andrew Woodger ’17; and Irina Znakharchuk ’15.
Environmental science student makes mark nationally and locally
Sarah Pierce ’14 of Holliston was one of 4,000 students accepted nationally to present at the National Council on Undergraduate Research’s annual conference in Lexington, Ky., this past spring.
An environmental science major, Pierce presented her research conducted during her entire senior year with Carsten Braun, Ph.D., of Geography and Regional Planning titled “Glacier Recession on Kilimanjaro: A Comparison of Different Mapping Approaches.”
“The conference was a great experience,” Pierce says. “I was able to talk to students from across the country and even from other parts of the world. Everyone seemed passionate about their research, which ranged from sociology to microbiology.”
On a local level, Pierce was Westfield State’s recipient of the Outstanding Environmental Science Student Award, and she also represented the Environmental Sciences Department at the 175th Anniversary Scholarship Gala, presenting “E. coli Point Source Tracking on the Westfield River.”
“I was extremely honored and surprised to receive the Outstanding Environmental Science Student Award,” Pierce adds. “I am the first in my immediate family to graduate, so to receive an award in my major was so exciting for my family.”
President of Earth2Ocean speaks to students
Jennifer Hanselman, Ph.D., associate professor of Biology, invited a special guest to speak at the University and drew a crowd of over 200 guests.
Dr. Ellen Prager, president of Earth2Ocean, author, writer, consultant and science advisor, spoke about issues from the earth and sea.
“I met Dr. Prager several years ago at an event similar to this one, and I was beyond impressed with her ability to share her passion for earth and ocean sciences with everyone around her,” Dr. Hanselman said while introducing Dr. Prager.
Dr. Prager has authored many books and has appeared on
many television shows, including The Today Show and the Weather Channel.
Westfield River Symposium continues to make an impact
This past spring, Westfield State held its 20th Westfield River Symposium. Started by Robert Bristow, Ph.D., professor and Chair of the Geography and Regional Planning Department, the Symposium is sponsored by the Westfield River Watershed Association (WRWA) and is always held at Westfield State.
“Westfield State University has gained a long-standing relationship in the community as it is related to the protection and enjoyment of the Westfield River,” Dr. Bristow says. “I am indebted to my colleagues in the Geography and Regional Planning Department and Biology who have been consistent partners in the symposium. It was through this partnership that Geography and Regional Planning and Biology worked to create the interdisciplinary major in Environmental Science.”
Other campus events and symposiums
Tim LeDoux in the Geography and Regional Planning Department partnered with the Massachusetts Geographic Alliance to sponsor a Social Studies and Geography Teacher Professional Development workshop. The theme of the program was geospatial literacy in the classroom and ways to engage students in social studies.
Sue Dutch, Ph.D., of the Psychology Department reports that Westfield State’s chapter of Psi Chi was named Best Chapter in the country by its national organization.
Brian Steinberg, Ph.D. of the Political Science Department shared the news that several students involved in the International Relations Club participated in the Harvard University and National Model United Nations Simulations. The students included Robert Fitzgerald, Zachary Zimmerman, Zachary Apotheker, Jaquelyn Luna, Christina DiVirgilio, Kimberly DeLaCruz, Brenna Closius, Andrew Lipke, Wayne Barnaby, Patrick Costello, Jonelle Coutinho, Maurice Taylor, Victoria Landry, Juan Gonzalez and Randi Hererra-Diaz.
The Biology Department hosted two high school groups as part of the BioTech Futures program. Dr. Hanselman commends faculty, students and staff who made this program successful. “The high school students participated in a college-level lab activity and walked away with a deeper understanding of the application of technologies to real-world situations,” she says.
