Amplifying diverse voices on the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University campuses.

That’s the purpose behind “We’re Here,” an undergraduate research project put together by first-year student Jazmin Acuna Diaz under the guidance of CSB and SJU professor of political science Christi Siver.

It consists of a series of interviews Acuna Diaz conducted with four CSB and SJU students from different backgrounds, bringing their distinct and unique stories to what Acuna Diaz and Silver hope will be a wider audience among the two campus communities.

“Our starting point was really just telling these stories,” said Acuna Diaz, a 2022 graduate of Big Lake (Minnesota) High School.

“Coming from a minority background, there were times I didn’t fully see the value of sharing my story. But after working on this project, I realize there are a lot of people who haven’t heard stories like these, or who may not realize what the person sitting next to them in class has gone through.”

Acuna Diaz was scheduled to be among the more than 700 students presenting their research, creative work or scholarship at the 23rd annual Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day on Thursday, April 27.

“The biggest takeaway for me from these interviews was that we tend to put people in boxes, but everyone has an individual story to tell,” Acuna Diaz said. “Throughout my work, I was aware of the fact that the students I interviewed trusted me to hold their stories in my hands. I had a responsibility to make sure they were accurately represented.”

The project came about through the Emerging Scholars Program, which is designed to “provide first-year students that have been traditionally underrepresented in higher education or their field of study access to three high-impact practices over the course of their first year at CSB and SJU: undergraduate research, learning in community and meaningful on-campus student employment.”

It was born of an idea Siver had after attending a panel discussion at the CSB and SJU Multicultural Center.

“It was the CSB/SJU version of the ‘Green Card Voices’ project that (advocacy group) Unite Cloud did with local immigrants (in Central Minnesota),” Siver said. “My colleague (in the political science department), Pedro dos Santos, chaired a discussion involving four different students from different immigration backgrounds. And it struck me that we should try to share these stories more widely.

“A lot of times, we don’t get to know other people on campus outside of classes. This seemed like a way to both increase awareness and help create a more inclusive environment.”

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the idea from getting off the ground, but Siver applied to have it accepted as part of the Emerging Scholars program beginning with the fall semester in 2022.

That, in turn, connected her with Acuna Diaz, who is a bio-chemistry major after originally planning to major in nursing and took a course in the narrative practices minor.

“It was focused on finding ways of telling stories to help people heal,” Acuna Diaz said. “It seemed like there were a lot of aspects of that which fit really well with this project.

“I related to it because I was born in Monticello, but my parents were immigrants from Mexico. Growing up in a predominately white community, I did struggle at times with taking pride in my nationality and culture, or sharing my story with other people.”

Siver hopes the project continues in the years to come, hopefully with Acuna Diaz serving as a mentor.

“Jazmin brought such a fresh perspective and energy to this,” Siver said. “She’s exceptionally well organized and very task orientated. She’s a self-starter. If you give her direction, she goes out and get things done.

“She really put in some amazing work, and it shows.”

Acuna Diaz was among the students selected as CSC Day Spotlight recipients because they delivered “timely projects that exceed expectations,” and each project represented the ability to “Think Deeply.” The complete list of award winners and their projects is as follows:

• Emily Rogalla and Lauren Voll, advised by Dr. Christen Strollo, Chemistry: Oxidative Potential for Atmospheric Particles
• Mary Ludwig, Sonja Hoversten and Caroline Tuck advised by Dr. Lisa Gentile, Chemistry: Inserting a Spectroscopic Probe into Human Mitochondrial Malate Dehydrogenase
• Fiona Rosko and Sawyer Macht, advised by Dr. David Mitchell, Biology: The Determination of the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of Erythromycin, Gentamicin, Ciprofloxacin, and Cephalothin for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas fulva
• Eli Anderson, advised by Dr. Trista Olson, Exercise Science and Sport Studies: Ammonia Inhalants (Smelling Salts) and their Effect on Countermovement Vertical Jump Peak Force Output
• Kaitlyn McKenzie, advised by Greg Taft, Physics: Low-Cost Spectrometer for Ti: Sapphire Laser
• Kenedi Mullings, advised by Dr. Aubrey Immelman, Psychology: The Personality Profile of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Office
• Clare Lamb, advised by Amelia Cheever, Theater: On The Verge Costume Design
• Jazmin Acuna Diaz, advised by Dr. Christi Siver, Emerging Scholars Program: We’re Here
• Anne Beuning, Bailey Eakins, Daniel Eickhoff and William Maikkula, advised by Steve Schwarz, Global Business Leadership: Society for Advancement of Management Case Study Competition
• Canaan Cooper, advised by Dr. Md Fazal, Chemistry: The Effect of Glucose on the denaturation of Human Serum Albumin

The following students were Distinguished Thesis Scholars (graduating seniors who have completed a three-semester-long independent research project):                                                                                                  

• Sydney Richter, Political Science, Constitutional Limits? Congressional Power to Enforce Salient 14th Amendment Liberties Post-Boerne v Flores, advised by Phil Kronebusch
• James Siems, Economics, Trouble Brewing: The Path to Optimizing Sustainability in the Craft Brewing Industry, advised by Parker Wheatley
• Anna Spreck, English, House of Horrors: The Experimental Labyrinth of House of Leaves, advised by Rachel Marston
• Alexa Hennen, Computer Science, Usability of SynpleTest: Program Synthesis as a Teaching Tool, advised by Peter Ohmann
• Alexie Horner, Biology, Assessing Long-Term Mussel Population and Recruitment Health After A Poolwide Drawdown in Pool 5 of the Mississippi River, advised by Trevor Keyler

Written by: Frank Rajkowski for the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University; used with permission. Find the original article here

University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Aleigha Dollens wins geoscience award 34 years after her mentor, Tina Niemi, who was the first award recipient.

Earth and environmental science student Aleigha Dollens recently won the 2023 Richard Hay Award from the Geoarchaeology Division of the Geological Society of America (GSA) for her research on evidence of earthquakes at the Mayan archaeological site of Quirigua in Guatemala. The award supports travel to the GSA annual meeting and recognizes meritorious student research.

This was especially good news to Dollens’ mentor, Tina Niemi, Ph.D., as the Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor was the first recipient of this award 34 years ago.

Niemi has taught geology at UMKC since 1995 and has personally mentored more than 60 undergraduate research projects with student funding from SEARCH, SUROP and NSF-funded research experience grants. 

“For my MS research, I reconstructed the paleoenvironmental history of a submerged classical archaeological site along the central coast of Greece,” Niemi said. “It was the presentation of that research at the annual meeting of the GSA in 1989 that won me the first-granted Richard Hay award. I am very proud of Aleigha and her achievements and thrilled that she has followed in my footsteps with this well-deserved award. The dedication of UMKC and its leaders to support undergraduate research is phenomenal.”

Dollens and Niemi visited the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University this past summer to search museum archives for excavation documents and artifacts that can help constrain the date of the earthquake that occurred during the final occupation of the Quirigua site.

“Winning the Richard Hay Award from the Geoarchaeology Division of the Geological Society of America is an honor like no other, especially since Dr. Tina Niemi was the first-ever recipient,” Dollens said. “She is one of my greatest supporters and pushes me to be a better geoscientist and a better person. It is an honor to get to work with such a strong woman in the geosciences field and I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for her ongoing support.”

The research was funded by the UMKC Undergraduate Research Program through SUROP and SEARCH awards and by the Earth and Environmental Science Newcomb Research Grant.

Written by: Krithika Selvarajoo for the University of Missouri-Kansas City; used with permission. Find the original article here

University of Missouri’s Scholars Program Promotes Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities

A unique collaboration between the University of Missouri Office of Undergraduate Research and the MU Honors College has led to an ongoing research opportunity for undergraduate students involved in the arts, social sciences and humanities (ASH) disciplines.

The ASH Scholars Program began in 2016 and has continued to grow over the years, including bringing in a new team this year. With the addition of the Santa Fe Trail research project, the ASH Scholars Program now features five teams that research a variety of topics.

“The goal was to replicate the benefits of working in a team like science laboratories do – but in the arts, social sciences and humanities,” said Linda Blockus, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research. “Oftentimes, undergraduate research and scholarship in these disciplines consists of a single student meeting with their advisor, without the interaction with other students. In science labs, the members work together on common problems, spending time bouncing ideas off each other, discussing results, and learning techniques and research skills from more experienced team members.

“With the multi-year approach to ASH Scholars, students can be involved in an ongoing, team-oriented project for potentially four years, growing from an inexperienced first-year student to a seasoned upperclassman who takes on a leadership role in the group.”

ASH Scholars receive a $3,000 scholarship, disbursed in four equal parts over the academic year. While the Honors College plays an important role in the program, students do not have to be pursuing the Honors Certificate to participate. Students of all academic majors and grade levels are invited to get involved.

Each ASH team consists of eight to 12 undergraduate students who work closely with faculty mentors on an established research project. The ASH teams are:

• Art of Death (visual studies)
• Close Relationships (psychological sciences)
• Collaborative Research in African Languages (linguistics)
• Minority Focused News as a Locus of Empowerment (communications)
• Santa Fe Trail (history)

“The ASH Scholars Program is one of the best kept secrets at Mizzou,” said Catherine Rymph, dean of the Honors College. “The program provides opportunities not often available to students in the arts, social sciences and humanities. Students get so much out of the experience, working over several years on team research with the dedicated faculty who lead these teams. ASH students have numerous opportunities to take on leadership roles and have presented their work at national and international conferences, been listed as authors on publications, and received fellowships for graduate study. No matter what they move on to after graduation, they benefit from the skills they develop as part of these collaborative research teams.”

The team aspect is one of the most vital parts of the program. Students oftentimes bring in different skillsets, allowing for a great mix of experiences. Many students also join as freshmen or sophomores, meaning their project tasks grow each year. Students generally start with data collection and move into data management roles. Eventually, they have the opportunity to present their work at conferences and forums, including to a public audience during Show Me Research Week, where all ASH team members present.

“The ASH Scholars Program really allows for team members to draw on each other’s’ strengths,” Blockus said. “Research projects are also seldom complete in nine months – it builds on prior findings and may veer off in new and exciting directions. With the security of multiple years of funding, ASH teams have been able to launch multi-year projects. That extended time allows students to develop skills, build confidence, establish a supportive peer community and assume leadership roles.”

While students benefit from the hands-on nature of the work, the faculty leads have also enjoyed being part of the program. Each research project that the ASH teams are participating in was born out of ongoing work from at least one of the current faculty leads.

“We’re blessed to have this program at Mizzou,” said Chris Josey, an associate teaching professor of communication at MU and one of the faculty leads of the Minority Focused News as a Locus of Empowerment team. “It’s great to have leadership who is committed to what we’re doing. The work that each team is doing is valuable. I think it’s one of the coolest programs on campus, and it’s inspired me to get more involved with undergraduate research. I want to help students find these outstanding experiential learning opportunities.”

“It can definitely be tough as faculty are oftentimes spread very thin,” added Amanda Rose, a professor of psychological sciences and one of the leads of the Close Relationships team. “It’s tough to take on another project; however, it’s so rewarding to help the students find their passions. Plus, our ASH teams contribute so much to MU’s overall research portfolio. We all benefit at the end of the day.”

Learn more about each of the ASH teams:

Art of Death

• Katina Bitsicas, assistant professor of visual studies
• Debora Verniz, assistant professor of architectural studies

The main goal of this innovative and interdisciplinary research project is to normalize conversations about death and dying through analysis of public structures and memorials through the lens of artistic production. The strategies for achieving this overall goal include generating creative projects that explore death and dying utilizing new media tools such as virtual reality, projection mapping, augmented reality and video art.

Close Relationships

• Amanda Rose, professor of psychological sciences
• Ashley Groh, associate professor of psychological sciences

This research teams pursues knowledge related to the science of close relationships. They approach the study of relationships from a lifespan perspective, with a primary focus on childhood and adolescence. The research studies include friends and family members. They are interested in how youths’ interactions with close relationship partners shape their development and emotional adjustment.

Collaborative Research in African Languages (CORAL)

• Michael Marlo, associate professor of linguistics
• Rebecca Grollemund, assistant professor of linguistics

The purpose of the CORAL team is to contribute to research in African linguistics at the University of Missouri. The CORAL team currently has two main strands of research in the study of African languages that are connected to one current grant and one prior grant from the National Science Foundation. 

Minority Focused News as a Locus of Empowerment

• Chris Josey, associate teaching professor of communication
• Julius Riles, associate professor of communication

The Minority Focused News team investigates the manners in which news websites and streaming platforms that serve under-represented and marginalized populations provide a prosocial benefit to society. Historically, they have analyzed the content present on these sites and presented at local, regional and national conferences. The team has recently branched out to examine the cognitive benefits these sites provide marginalized and under-represented groups and other forms of social identity content (e.g., streaming platforms).

Santa Fe Trail

• Jay Sexton, professor of history
• Kyle Jackson, research fellow of history

The objective of this team is to excavate historical data and narrative concerning the Santa Fe Trail. The second objective is to communicate the importance of the trail to public audiences.

Written by: Logan Jackson for the University of Missouri; used with permission. Find the original article here