The “best of the best” were chosen from the 10th annual Wiggins Memorial Library Academic Symposium, moved to a completely online format with the cancellation of all face-to-face classes and large gatherings this semester.
Out of more than 100 entries — oral and poster presentations broken down into undergraduate and graduate categories, in addition to art exhibitions and entries from Adult & Online Education students — only 12 were chosen for “High Merit” recognition and 20 received “Merit.”
Originally scheduled for March 18, the virtual presentations were released and judging took place on March 27. According to organizers, more than 3,500 people visited the symposium website on its opening day. According to Elizabeth Dobbins, reference and online instruction librarian, the transition to online did little in changing the presentations and the format. The biggest change, she said, was how the students’ work was consumed.
“I have been so inspired by and impressed with our students,” Dobbins said. “We offered them a chance to still present, and the vast majority have opted in by submitting digital content, even during a challenging time of transition.”
High Merit winners scored within the top 10 percent of their category, and merit winners scored within the top 25 percent. Winners, with links to their work, are listed below:
Adult & Online Education
- High Merit
- An Analysis of the Impact of Environment on Customer Service Interactions: The Role of Altruism by Alexandria Durr (Faculty Mentor: Katherine Van Allen)
- Merit
- Applying Healthcare Improvement Methodologies to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates at a Federal Qualified Health Center by Ebony Harris (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jan Lee Santos)
Art Exhibits
- High Merit
- Mariah by Cameron Giddens (Faculty Mentor: Prof. Breck Smith)
- Merit
- Owl’s Good by Erendira E. Ramirez (Facutly Mentor: Prof. Maggie Horvath)
Undergraduate Oral Presentations
- High Merit
- Avoiding Urban Flight: Positive Deviants Who Stay Home in a Rural Coastal County and Thrive by Amber Merklinger (Faculty Mentor: Dean Farmer)
- One Song, America, Before I Go.” The Dissipation of the Loco-Foco Movement by Zach Berly (Faculty Mentor: Sal Mercogliano)
- Horrors Behind a White Picket Fence by Monique Kesling (Faculty Mentor: Prof. Kym Ward)
- Merit
- Birth Beginnings Doula Volunteer Services by Vanessa Miranda Castillo and Sucharitha Murugu (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ann Ortiz)
- Increased Intraocular Pressure in a Division I Football Player by Morgan Garris (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sarah Christie)
- Health Communication and Public Health: Speaking Life with Positive Deviance by Cameron Turlington (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Dean Farmer)
- Identifying Positive Deviance in Nursing Practices by Jacqueline Stournaras (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Dean Farmer)
- A Solution for the Stranger: Xenophobia and Nationalism in Shakespeare’s Venetian Plays by Jordan Hobgood (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Eric Dunnum)
- Gender, Speech, and Silence: A Case Study in Pat Barker’s “Regeneration” by Leah Tripp (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Gina Peterman)
Graduate Oral Presentations
- High Merit
- The Effects of Heart Rate on Marksmanship in Tactical Personnel: A Systematic Review by Jeffrey Kennedy (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Bradley Myers)
- Case Study of an Anomalous Accessory Muscle of the Posterior Forearm by Arash Behroozi, Brandon Block, Jeremie Bourget, Monyetta Hanson (Faculty Mentors: Dr. Bonnie Brenseke and Dr. David Green
- An Investigation of the Association Between Risky Behaviors and Alcohol Consumption in Pregnant Females by Kaylee G. Moore and Megan N. Taylor (Faculty Mentors: Dr. Charles Carter)
- Merit
- Incidence of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome in North Carolina and the Association with Neonatal Factors in 2016 by Amy Clontz, Melissa Harward, and Thuy Vo (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Charles Carter)
- Evaluating the Use of Mixed Reality to Teach Respiratory Anatomy by Benjamin Robinson (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Bonnie Brenseke)
Undergraduate Poster Presentations
- High Merit
- Characterization and Optimization of Biosurfactant Production by Marine Bacterial Isolates by Chloe Baumgardner (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Michelle Thomas)
- Synthesis of a Novel Molecule for Supramolecular Polymerization by Ryan Towey (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jordan Womick)
- Merit
- The Impact of Therapeutic Hand Drumming on College Students Perceived Stress Levels and a Selected Immune Marker by Keitland Medlin (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Dwayne Wilson)
- Redesigning College Common Spaces to Maximize Usage & Feelings of Community by Katelynn Powers, Bryan Ramsey, and Jessica Regehr (Faculty Mentor: Prof. Maggie Horvath)
- Optimization of Dunaliella salina growth using commercial fertilizers and salts by Jessica Wakeman (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Stephanie Matthews)
- Evaluation and comparison of 5S (lean) and Six Sigma methodologies by Anna Jones (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Tim Shenk)
Graduate Poster Presentations
- High Merit
- Impact of High-Intensity Strength Training in Chronic TBI by Shelby Diachenko, Jeffrey Kennedy, and James Wilson (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Michelle Green)
- Acute Liver Failure Due to Herpes Simplex Virus 1 and 2 by Tanner Mabry (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Christopher Stewart)
- Merit
- Determination of the mechanism of action of synthetic cannabinoids (sCB) in human platelets by Eunhyeua Grace Han (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Stephen Holly)
- Relationship Between Wellness Scores and Internal and External Training Loads in a Division I Women’s Lacrosse Team by Alma Kathryn Couch (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Bunn)
- Evaluating the Utilization of Antiepileptic Medications in Pediatric Patients on the Ketogenic Diet for Seizure Control by Brennen Guzick (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Tara Bell)
- Histopathology of Type I Papillary Renal Cell Carcinoma by Kaylie Dunbar, Thomas Gignac, Robert Greer, and Tyler Strong (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Howard Reisner)
- Investigation of the activity of novel compounds at the GPR6 receptor by Ricardo Quintanilla (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Chris Breivogel)
- Necrotizing Enterocolitis in a Full-term infant: A Case Report and Review of Literature by Emily Cox (Faculty Mentor: Dr. Omar L. Caban)