Scholarship Sewanee Showcases Student Research
April 29, 2025
On April 25, undergraduate students representing over 20 academic programs convened for the 32nd annual Scholarship Sewanee event. A fixture of Sewanee’s Easter term since 1994, Scholarship Sewanee is a daylong showcase of undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative work.
This year’s event featured 81 oral presentations from students on topics ranging from a comparison of genetic patterns in local salamander populations to a lyrical analysis of Puerto Rican identity in musician Bad Bunny’s lyrics to an examination of the role of community-based organizations in developing global environmental security. The day culminated in a poster session, during which formal research posters for 84 student-led or initiated projects were on display in Harris Commons in Spencer Hall. In all, the event showcased research and scholarly activity in the fields of biology, chemistry, history, art, psychology, environmental studies, language and cultural studies, and more.
“The high level of participation in Scholarship Sewanee indicates that ours is a campus that greatly values undergraduate research and turns out to support the students who have committed a significant amount of their Sewanee career to making important scholarly or artistic contributions,” say Terri Fisher and Elise Kikis, co-directors of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship.
The assembled student projects include work conducted for academic courses, completed as part of a study away experience, and independent research performed under the close supervision of a faculty member. In all cases, note Fisher and Kikis, participating students develop skills that will aid their future academic and career endeavors.
“The opportunity to present the final project to an audience of scholars and peers is both a source of great pride and provides extremely valuable experiences that students will take with them beyond Sewanee,” say Fisher and Kikis. “Explaining their work to non-experts requires the students to develop analytical skills that allow them to think deeply about and effectively communicate the motivation, implementation, outcomes, and relevance of their work.”
Cassie Mansfield, professor of art history at Pennsylvania State University, gave Scholarship Sewanee’s McCrady Lecture, entitled “Listen to What I'm Seeing: AI and the History of Making Images out of Words.” Mansfield was also responsible for selecting the two Speaker’s Choice Award winners from among the poster session presenters.
For the award for Student Projects in Activism, Research, and Creativity (SPARC), the selected poster was Severity, Dynamics, and Socioeconomic Drivers of Masai Giraffe Bushmeat Activities in the Amboseli Region, presented by: Talia de la Cruz, C’26; Avery Graff, C’26; Autumn Sims, C’25; Jennifer Wanyingi, resident lecturer of endangered species conservation at the School for Field Studies; and Katie McGhee, associate professor of biology.
Among all other posters considered for the second Speaker’s Choice Award, the winner was Nanopolystyrene Exposure Induces Proteostasis Decline in Caenorhabditis elegans, presented by: Hannah Talbott, C’25; Hannah Womble, C’25; Ellen Woodward, C’25; and Elise Kikis, professor of biology.
Scholarship Sewanee is a key initiative of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship, which encourages, supports, and facilitates student research and scholarly experiences by sponsoring workshops, research fellowship programs, and forums in which students may present their research, scholarship, and creative pursuits. Read more about undergraduate research at Sewanee here.
