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Shenandoah Conservatory Well Represented Among Winners of This Year’s SUpr Summit

Several Shenandoah Conservatory undergraduate and graduate students across disciplines were recognized for their research and scholarship at this year’s Student Project & Research (SUpr) Summit on Tuesday, April 30, in the Brandt Student Center, Ferrari Room. This year’s event showcased 66 projects by 150 students. Conservatory students recognized and research topics include:

Undergraduate Individual Category
First Place (tied)
  • The Fibonacci Sequence in Music by Elizabeth Beller ’19 (Bachelor of Music in Performance-Clarinet)
Honorable Mentions
  • Sweet Dreams Baby by Jenna Barricklo ’21 (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre)
  • Centers and Peripheries in the Expression and Enactment of Religion, Sociopolitical Soundscapes, and the Reception of Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. by Madeleine M. Bohnett ’20 (Bachelor of Music in Performance-Violin)
  • More Than Words: Overcoming Trauma Through Mindful Movement and Imagery by Lauren M. Pappas ’19 (Bachelor of Arts in Dance)
Undergraduate Group Category
Honorable Mentions
  • Music Styles: How do you feel? by Avery Apgar ’20 (Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy), Brittany Benachowski ’19 (Bachelor of Science in Biology) and Chris Cornell ’19 (Bachelor of Science in Psychology)
Graduate Individual Category
First Place
  • The New Rules of Philanthropy in a Millennial Age by Walker Konkle ’19 (Master of Science in Performing Arts Leadership & Management)
Honorable Mentions
  • What is the Economic Impact of Arts Districts Like the Avenue of the Arts in Philadelphia? Who do Cultural Assets Benefit? by Adam Foizen ’19 (Master of Science in Performing Arts Leadership & Management)
  • Accessibility in Performing Arts Centers by Olivia Hoogestraat ’19 (Master of Science in Performing Arts Leadership & Management)

Visit www.su.edu/academics/academic-resources-information/center-for-teaching-and-learning-2/symposiums-events/supr-summit/ for a full list of participants and winners, and to learn more about SUpr Summit.

About SUpr Summit

At the Student Project & Research (SUpr) Summit, students from across the university’s programs, engaged in a broad range of study being done inside and outside classrooms, present their projects and research, works-in-progress and scholarly creative endeavors through digital media, fine art, audio and video recordings and posters. They display their findings, express their curiosity, and interact with those who stop at their presentation tables.

Now in its sixth year, the summit is redefining research from a new base of operations in the Office of Shenandoah Associate Provost Amy Sarch, Ph.D. “I look forward to this event every year,” said Dr. Sarch. “What a valuable opportunity for Shenandoah University to showcase the creative, fabulous work our students accomplish here and to applaud the work that faculty do to get students to this point.”

The SUpr Summit was the brainchild of Associate Professor of Psychology Mark Chan, Ph.D., who is the faculty director of the SUpr Summit. Instructional Support Coordinator Virginia Armagh, M.A., is the summit coordinator.

Since SUpr Summit began in 2014, more than 300 students have taken advantage of this opportunity, which provides them with the ability to network with VIPs at the awards ceremony, practice presentations for regional and national conferences, and vie for prize money. Students of winning presentations have been awarded $5,025 collectively.

When students opted to take honors cell biology in spring 2017, they didn’t know the class would include an art project.

Associate Professor of Biology Laurel Rodgers, Ph.D., who teaches the course every other year, said the course needed an interdisciplinary element, in order to meet the requirements of the  proposed honors program. As a result, Dr. Rodgers, who minored in studio art as an undergraduate, gave her students an open-ended project – to produce artwork representing some aspect of cell biology.

Her students created everything from paintings of a cell membrane and a papier-mache representation of a neuron to watercolors of cell types and tissues and enhanced photos.

Biology major/chemistry minor Dillon Richardson ’18 used strawberry DNA as his medium. “I came up with the idea of painting with DNA because I wanted to do a blend of art and science, specifically genetics, because that is what I hope to work with and study in the future. I also thought it would be cool to paint pictures of DNA and some of the cellular processes involving DNA with DNA!” Richardson said. “I executed my project by isolating strawberry DNA. I then concentrated and purified the DNA. The higher the concentration of DNA, the brighter it will be on my canvas. I then mixed the DNA with a chemical called SybrSafe. SybrSafe is a chemical that binds to DNA and lights when exposed to blue light; the DNA would emit green light. Using a paintbrush, I painted the DNA onto my ‘canvas,’ which was blotting paper. I painted on the lightly sketched pencil marks on the blotting paper (the pencil marks do not show up in the imaging process). Blotting paper is used to transfer nucleic acids/proteins from agarose/PAGE gels to the blotting paper itself to visualize nucleic acids and proteins more easily. I then used a special imaging machine to take a picture to expose the DNA!”

Rodgers said the imagining machine Richardson mentioned is located in the Health & Life Sciences Building.

“They definitely went above and beyond,” said Rodgers, who then displayed her students’ artwork at April’s Student Project and Research (SUpr) Summit. “I wanted everyone to see what they had created.”

Through the project, she wanted students to see how art and science intersect, and the beauty that can be found when they cross paths. “I don’t think any subject lives in a bubble,” she added.

“I think I learned patience from creating art in ‘honors cell,’” said Richardson, who is doing a summer research internship at the Ohio State University this summer. “It took me several attempts (over the span of two weeks) to actually get my idea to work. It then took about another week to paint the five pieces. It helped me visualize the process and gave me a sense of the bigger picture of what is happening.”

Rodgers said she hopes that as more honors courses are developed, faculty will be creative in helping students explore connections between disciplines. She’s deeply impressed with the works her students produced. “I love them,” she said.

Featured image is “Double Knockout” by Jordon Edlund. It shows cells that have had the genes for two important proteins “knocked out”. This means that these proteins, ZO-1 and ZO-2, are no longer expressed. ZO-1 and ZO-2 are essential components in tight junctions, which attach to actin in order to form between cells and regulate what passes between them. This image shows the location of mitochondria in red, these structures are responsible for the production of energy within the cell. These images were taken using fluorescent microscopy.

“Beyond the Big House: Making the Transition to Life After Prison,” a research project by public health and biology alumna Kelsey Brewster ’14, public health alumna Mina Hailemariam ’14 and public health major Paula Sorrentino ’15 has been published in VA Engage Journal, an engaged scholarship project of the VA Engage network. The group was advised by Assistant Professor of Public Health Audra Gollenberg, Ph.D.

According to its abstract, the group’s journal article “summarizes the current evidence of the burden of recidivism on society and proposes a multifaceted solution that may be adapted for a small or large prison system.”

The group was inspired to do this research project as a result of Brewster’s experience during an internship with a local AIDS non-profit organization. Through her internship, she worked with many clients who were in and out of prison, lacked access to medication, and were stuck in a pattern of ongoing imprisonment. All of the aforementioned factors contributed to the spread of disease, and prompted the design of a fundamental program to change the way former inmates transition.

The program is called Beyond the Big House, which was designed by Brewster, Hailemariam and Sorrentino to aid inmates in making the transition to life outside of prison.

“Through our research, we found a few programs here and there that were similar to what we had in mind, but there has yet to be a standard,” said Hailemariam. “We designed a program that has the potential to become the standard in correctional facilities around the United States while also decreasing government spending. This alone would more than pay for the cost of our program.”

“Our research pointed out that there is a major need to start interventions before inmates are released from prison,” said Sorrentino. “We designed a program that provides education within the prison and puts the individuals in contact with a case manager to plan their release, as well as offer a variety of services up to two years post-release.”

The group decided to participate in the Shenandoah University Projects & Research (SUpr) Summit, an opportunity offered by the university to students of all majors to showcase their work, including current or past projects, completed or in progress.

“SUpr Summit was a way for us to gain the valuable experience of selling our product to a board of community members,” said Hailemariam. “Through the course of SUpr, I think we really gained an appreciation for the impact that a program like ours could have on communities.”

“SUpr Summit was kind of a shock for us because the judges were so receptive to our idea,” said Sorrentino. “Up until that point, we really hadn’t shared the idea with anyone, so for us to hear such praise was astonishing. The problem of recidivism is known by many, but to really see how our program could have a direct impact fueled our drive to move forward.”

“Beyond the Big House, Making the Transition to Life After Prison” won the 2014 SUpr Award for Best Group Project. The students were so inspired by the opportunity to present their work that they submitted their research to VA Engage and were subsequently published.

“We want to express our sincerest gratitude for Dr. Gollenberg,” said Brewster. “She was the fuel that helped to light the fire within us. Our time in the public health program has been incredible. During our time in her courses, we came to the realization that nothing is impossible when you set your mind to it.”