Linfield University is a place where students can explore a variety of different avenues. This sentiment was apparent at this year’s student symposium, with students from many different majors presenting the semester-long projects that their four years at Linfield have prepared them for.
Just feet apart from one another were presentations for engineering, psychology and creative writing. Not only was there a variation in topics, but there was a variation in the form of projects as well. While some presentations were given in poster form, there were also slideshows, Q&As, art galleries and a short film.
Among the poster presentations was psychology major Caity Babcock’s analysis of the relationship between social media and decreasing grades in adolescence. She aimed to examine what was mediating this relationship, as there was conflicting research on this theory.
“I’m getting ready for grad school, so I figured it would be a good idea to get hands-on experience with research,” said Babcock.
Babcock worked with her advisor, Dr. Jennifer Linder, on this project. While Linder did the research, Babcock ran the analysis, created the poster and presented their findings. They even presented their findings at a conference in Minneapolis before presenting at the symposium.
“When you control frustration resilience in adolescence, there is not a relationship between social media and grades,” said Babcock.
Engineering major Makai Williams presented a new production method for graphene using plasma etching. Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms used for its mechanical, electrical and thermal properties.
“I’m interested in the mechanical and electrical engineering side of things,” said Williams, “I decided to do something in that field that I can possibly continue after Linfield.”
Over the semester, Williams started by scanning and obtaining data, then putting data together and analyzing it. He aims to decrease the amount of defects in producing graphene while minimizing the size of it. It is important to make graphene scalable because it is used in microchips.
“And who knows,” said Williams, “Maybe I can make a business on it.”
While the poster presentations were a big part of the symposium, there were different types of presentations to experience. For example, a presentation by the head editors of Camas, senior Emma Bare and junior Colin Bellairs, as well as the art director, senior Kara Kanetake.
Camas is a student-run campus literary journal founded in 1980. Camas is supported by the creative writing program and the Associated Students of Linfield University (ASLU). While most contributors are a part of the creative writing or English department, all students are welcome to submit work to Camas. In fact, the editors love when students from outside the department participate.
“It is a celebration of campus as a whole,” said Bare. “It’s been fun to see the thing come together.”
Since these head editors had to read through every piece, creating the journal had some challenges.
“No editor is perfect, and you will make suggestions that are wrong sometimes,” said Bellairs.
While creating Camas takes a lot of time and effort, that hard work is evident. During the question and answer portion of the presentation, an audience member complimented the team on creating the most aesthetically pleasing magazine to date. This is thanks to the art director Kara Kanetake.
“While it was 170 pages of design,” said Kanetake, “I loved being able to have creative control.”
Whether it be psychology, engineering or creative writing, there is a place for it all at the student symposium. It’s a place of exploration and dedication to education and the Linfield experience.
