Celebration of Scholarship Symposium

The Celebration of Scholarship Symposium serves as a venue for students, faculty members, and the general public to explore the relationship between research and education. Students from all academic fields along with invited guests are encouraged to participate in discussions that opens opportunity for research and contribution.

View last year’s submissions and winners »

21st Annual Celebration of Scholarship Symposium

Thursday, May 4, 2023 at Morris Cultural Arts Center (McNair Hall): 1pm-5pm

Houston Christian University’s 21st Annual Celebration of Scholarship Symposium is a competitive event where students can submit their research findings for the current academic year.  Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to submit their academic work and experiences in the form of a paper or a poster presentation. The symposium’s objective is to pave the ground for future collaboration between the university and the community by highlighting all the discoveries produced by students with the support of faculty members.

To register or for more information, please email kcerling@hbu.edu  

Paper Presentation Schedule

Hope Mcginnis, Breana Herrera, Samira Silva ,
Taylor Marshall: 2:00-2:15pm
Starbucks Medicine Ball v. HSM2 Tea: The designed experiment was to create a more effective and cheaper alternative to the Starbucks Medicine Ball. There are claims that this drink is the cure-all for all gastrointestinal and upper respiratory microbes. The Escherichia coli microbe affects the gastrointestinal tract, causing diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illnesses, and bloodstream infections. While the Enterobacter cloacae microbe causes respiratory infections, soft tissue infections, urinary tract infections, fevers, chills, fatigue, pneumonia, meningitis, and skin infections including inflammation. We put several natural reagents including thyme, ginger, and peppermint to the test against Escherichia coli and Enterobacter cloacae to see how well it inhibited growth compared to the Starbucks Medicine Ball. The disk diffusion method was performed for each microbe, Escherichia coli and Enterobacter cloacae, to measure the zone of inhibition for each reagent, thyme, ginger, and peppermint.

LaShaun Bailey: 2:20-2:35pm
Understanding and Managing Stress Among College Students: Stress is a common shared experience among college students, and a variety of stressors affect their overall well-being and academic performance. College students face stressors such as financial situations, academic overload, family issues, and uncertainty regarding employment after graduation. Twenty-five college students from the Kinesiology Department at Houston Christian University participated in a survey to assess the effect stress has on their personal lives and academic performance. The survey aimed to identify the key factors that contributed to their stress and how students are managing them. The results showed that 95% of respondents (n = XXX) experienced cognitive stress such as difficulty concentrating while 100% of students experienced feeling the need to withdraw and isolate as a form of social stress, which impacts their mental health, physical well-being, behavior, and academic performance. Being able to develop essential resources to help students mitigate their stress and develop strategies to improve their mental health is integral to the future cohorts and their success. Students also expressed the need for the university to implement a class on how to manage stress, speaking about stress management within the classroom amongst peers, and better therapy on campus.

Marisol Balderas: 2:40-2:55pm
Wilson, Coolidge, and the Constitution: How True Progress is to be Attained: President Woodrow Wilson sought to overturn the Constitution in the name of progress. For him, the Constitution was an outdated document that impeded advancement by imposing limits on how progress could be achieved. However, this idea was challenged most convincingly by Wilson’s successor, Calvin Coolidge. Coolidge demonstrated that progress could never be secured by rejecting the Constitution because the Constitution had been grounded in permanent truths about human nature. He showed that we can only make progress by acknowledging eternal principles and living in accordance with them, instead of by attempting to overcome them and seeking to make them serve us. He thus argued that more progress will be made as we come closer to a fuller recognition of eternal things.

Sarah Molina: 3:00-3:15pm
H84T Banana Lectin CAR-T Cells to Target Solid Tumors and Associated Tumor Stromal Cells: During my time interning at the Baylor College of Medicine Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, my research focused on a novel cancer treatment that has been explored in few laboratories worldwide. By utilizing conventional CAR T-cells, H84T Banana Lectin CAR T-cells, and dual CAR T-cells alongside multiple cancer cell lines, we were able to better determine the best approach to the heterogeneous and hostile tumor microenvironment that cancer patients face.

Rachel Awe: 3:15-3:30pm

Switch On Switch Off: The affects of code-switching on the Mental Health of African American/Black Women: The objective of this study is to assess and develop an understanding of the correlation code-switching has on the Mental Health of African American/Black Women, bringing awareness and shedding light on a phenomenon that has little to no current relevant research. There is some data that acknowledges code-switching and masking has some possible impact on the mental psyche of AA/BW, there is little data and research to show the direct implications and to what degree AA/BW experience/suffer impact from engaging in code switching. The research design evaluates depressive symptoms in AA/BW, and its severity and degree when AA/BW experience discrimination/prejudice in the workplace in the form of micro-aggressions and micro-assaults. The research strategy/procedure utilizes mixed methods of data to attain a clear understanding of the degree AA/BW engage in code-switching/masking, to assimilate into the corporate workplace environment such as making alterations to not only their physical appearance but to their mannerisms, style of speech, tone, and attire. 

 

Poster Presentations

Xiaofan Cai, Thao Nguyen: Synthesis and Examination of Binding Properties of Reaction Product between RuCl3 and ligand Allopurinol

Xiaofan Cai: Enzymatic activity of drought-grown kidney bean plants with the aid of nano/bulk silicon dioxide

Kira Sprinkle: Disney Wellness Week Unit Plan

Jasmine Garcia: Parental Styles vs. Child Mental Health (Lockdown Edition)

Zaena Alzahrawi: Cramer vs. Tear-light Tape on Ankle Stability & Balance using the BESS Test

Shanelle Bradley: Aloha Wellness Week

Melissa Funk: A Day at the Beach Wellness Weak

Amber Zimmer:Exercise Tolerance and Performance Related to Menstrual Side Effects in College-Aged Females

Sarah Alameddine: Margin Analysis in Patients Treated with Neoadjuvant Systemic Therapy and Breast Conserving Surgery

Alejandra Gutierrez: Levels of Generalized Anxiety Experienced by HCU Students by College

Nicole Salazar: Stress Levels Experienced by College Student Athletes vs. Non-Athletes

Mariana Orozco: A germination study of nSiO2 on the assessment of different priming conditions for optimal plant-nanoparticle interaction

Sarah Molina: H84T Banana Lectin CAR-T Cells to Target Solid Tumors and Associated Tumor Stromal Cells

Celebration of Scholarship Symposium

  • Guidelines for Presentation

    Guidelines for Participants during the Celebration of Scholarship Symposium:

    The Poster Session

    1. The Poster Session will be in McNair Hall, Cultural Arts Center on Thursday, May 4 from 1pm – 5:00 pm and judging will be between 5pm-6pm. The poster stands will be set up around 12:00pm to allow students to arrange their posters between 12:00pm-1pm. If a student cannot make that time to hang up their poster, then the student is encouraged to contact Dr. Cerling to make arrangements for the poster to be hung. Student do not have to be by their poster the entire time (see #3 below).
    2. A stand, a foam board and thumb tacks will be provided. Each stand will have one poster back and front. In addition, some tables will be available but hangable posters are preferred.
    3. You may have someone present during 1pm-5pm to answer any questions about the poster and to present your work. That is when judges will make the rounds and guests will be encouraged to attend then. Professional attire is required. It is preferred that all members of the group be present.
    4. Each poster will be assigned a number. Look for the number and then stick your number on your poster for easy viewing.
    5. Each poster must have a title, the names of all the contributors, and the presenter’s college or school.
    6. Name tags will be available at a designated table for the presenters. The name of the presenter(s) and the presenters’ college must be written on the name tag.
    7. NOTICE: Students must remove their posters from the Display Session by 9:00 pm on Thursday, May 4. Please leave the orange poster number card on the table when you remove your poster. Posters that are left after that time can be found in Dr. Cerling’s office (Brown 289).

    The Oral Session

    1. The Paper Presentation Sessions will be held on Thursday, May 4 from 2:00-5:00 PM (the session time and place may be modified depending on number of presenters) in the Morris Cultural Arts Center. Professional attire is required.
    2. Each Oral Presentation will be assigned a time slot that will be sent by e-mail to the student giving the talk. At the time technology requests will be evaluated; the use of a projector for PowerPoint will be available.
    3. The Oral Presentation should not last more than 30 minutes including time for questions.
    4. Each Oral Presentation must have a title, the names of all the contributors, and the presenter’s college.
    5. Awards will be given and the winners will be notified via email after the celebration. At least one judge will be assigned to listen to your presentation.
  • Eligibility & Requirements

    Any graduate or undergraduate student who has prepared a project during the Spring 2022 through the Spring 2023 semester is eligible to participate in this event. Participating students should choose to do either a poster presentation or give a paper (in other words, a student cannot present both a poster presentation and paper for the same project). Students are allowed to present more than one project during the symposium.

    A link to the online application can be found in the upper left-hand side of this guide. Please have your research advisor approve your abstract before you submit it. Only students who submit their application by the deadline date will be considered. Guidelines for participating in the symposium and other relevant information will be posted on the upper left-hand side of this guide.

    Judging information will be e-mailed after the submission deadline for those who wish to have their poster or oral presentations judged. For further questions, please contact Dr. Kristie Cerling (kcerling@hbu.edu).

  • Submission Deadline Information

    Submission Deadline:  April 26, 2023 by 11:59pm

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