Conference Report

With over 160 presenters across schools and disciplines, the 2026 conference was truly one to remember. Although smaller and more contained than the 2025 conference, this year's event showcased some of the best work of our graduate and undergraduate students, from capstone projects to Honors Contracts, class presentations, independent research, and more. Friends and families joined faculty, staff, and Brothers from around the college to fill the Soda Center, exploring the vast array of posters and trifolds arrayed across the different rooms, as well as a number of digital and live presentations, including a theatrical performance. Each year it's an honor and a pleasure to see so many students share their work with their community, proud and eager to discuss their findings, to explain their creative choices, and to answer meaningful questions with thoughtful consideration and confident expertise.

View the 2026 Program

Best Presentations in the Arts & Humanities:

Image Carolyn Gersten Lights Up! Artists to Action

Image Daniel Rogers A country divided, But not a community

Best Presentations in Business:

Image Marco Gozon Passion vs. Paycheck: Redefining Success in the Labor Market

Image Yago Mateo Sanchez Substitution or Complement? The Relationship Between Youth Drinking and Sports Betting

Best Presentations in Education:

Image Erin Colville Beyond the Fourth Wall: Using Theatre to Teach Social Emotional Learning	Image Liddon Levine Integrating SEL Into Middle School Classrooms to Reduce Behavior Referrals
Image Qi Li Integrating SEL Into Middle School Classrooms to Reduce Behavior Referrals

Best Presentations in the Sciences:

Image Nathan Hess Immobilized Radicals for Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Enhanced NMR and MRI	Image Clarice Reinwald Immobilized Radicals for Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Enhanced NMR and MRI
Image Mia Schowengerdt Comparing the Biogeochemical Characteristics Found in Soils from Natural vs. Artificial Wetlands, East Bay Area, CA	Image Sofia Yildirim Observation and Analysis of DNA Reservoirs: Metabarcoding and Environmental DNA

Best Presentations in the Social Sciences:

Image Sarah Batte Does Lack of Understanding of NVLD Negatively Affect Ability to Get Accommodations	Image Emma Eagan Public Archaeology at the Joaquin Moraga Adobe: Preliminary Results and Future Plans
Image Aruna Silva Saint Mary's: Past, Present, and Future Sustainability Initiatives	Image Kira Tippit Saint Mary's: Past, Present, and Future Sustainability Initiatives

Library Research Awardees:

Image Sara Alhejazin Exercise as Intervention: Reducing ADHD Symptoms in Children and Adolescents	Image Rebecca Carranza Report on Legal Scholarship for the Prison Religion Project of the Center for Engaged Religious Pluralism
Image Natalia Gutierrez The Impact of Sport Protest: The Protest at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Tommie Smith and John Carlos	Image Matthew Heydari The Development of Infrastructure in AI
Image Drew Paxman Report on Legal Scholarship for the Prison Religion Project of the Center for Engaged Religious Pluralism	Image Fiona Smith The War on Public Lands: a comprehensive historical analysis of US public lands and debates about the future of their existence
Image Molly Stanley Biochar and Water Quality

Conference Report

This year's conference broke our record in terms of total presentations (312) and presenters (437), with nearly as many visitors who came to explore these students' incredible work. We are especially delighted by the number of graduating seniors who presented their theses and capstone projects, as well as the various graduate departments represented this year, with presentations from Counseling and Forensic Psychology, Communication and Dance, and even Biotechnology, to name a few. Indeed, the energy at this year’s Student Research Conference & Showcase was nothing short of electric. Our students presented their projects with excitement, confidence, and well-earned pride—and it was equally moving to see the pride reflected in the eyes of their families and mentors.

View the 2025 Program

Best Presentations in the Arts & Humanities:

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Best Presentations in Business:

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Best Presentations in Education:

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Best Presentations in the Sciences:

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Best Presentations in the Social Sciences:

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Library Research Awardees:

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Phi Kappa Phi Awardee

(Elevator Pitch Contest)

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Conference Report

With 300 total presenters and around 300 friends, family, and faculty filling the Soda Center, this year's conference was truly something to behold. Students from nearly every academic department brought their latest research and coursework to share with the campus community, from art and science posters to business class exhibits and prerecorded presentations from our graduate education students in KSOE. There were even some presenters, including a few alumni, who simply wanted to showcase their academic passions, and this year's conference offered them a great opportunity to awe and amaze their friends and instructors, as well as our conference judges, with their thoughtful and compelling scholarship.

View the 2024 Program

Best Presentations in the Arts & Humanities:

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Best Presentations in Business:

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Best Presentations in Education:

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Best Presentations in the Sciences:

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Best Presentations in the Social Sciences:

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Library Research Awardees:

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Elevator Pitch Contest Winner:

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