The roles were reversed at the 27th annual Student Research Competition where 71 students presented their research to professors and judges at Cal State Bakersfield.
The competition is an annual event that allows students the opportunity to orally present on a topic that they have conducted extensive research on, for a duration of ten minutes in front of a panel of judges. The winners received $300 and the runner-ups received $200.
“This opportunity meant a lot to me because it allowed me to share research that I have worked on for about three years,” said Marcos Ramirez, a fourth-year student at CSUB.
Ramirez, who presented on the varying vessel diameters across plants and shrubs, found the competition to be bittersweet, as it was one of his last presentations in front of an audience at CSUB.
The event was put on by the Office of Grants, Research and Sponsored Programs coordinated by Manuel Barrera.
“Students, faculty, and campus visitors were able to learn about the great variety of research and scholarship work across disciplines at CSU Bakersfield. Moreover, students were able to share their works in a traditional professional academic setting and gain experience in presenting before faculty jurors and an audience,” said Barrera.
During the competition, students from every academic college at CSUB were present, including the College of Arts and Humanities.
“At CSUB, students don’t have many of these opportunities, and this is one of the most accessible, especially for humanities students,” said Darci Ross-Smith. “I hope that students will continue to utilize this valuable resource, regardless of whether or not they are an NSME [College of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering] or AH major, undergraduate or graduate student, or an experienced or inexperienced presenter.”
Winner of the undergraduate Humanities and Letters category, Ross-Smith, will now have the opportunity to present her research at the annual CSU Student Research Competition at San Jose State University on April 23-25.
Students were judged on factors such as clarity, organization, methodology and more, according to the competition guidelines.
SRC judge, Dr. Monica Ayuso, a professor of ethnic and world literature, is a returning judge and previous mentor to students competing in the competition.
“The competition features some of the best work by graduates and undergraduates in our school. Being exposed to what departments like history, theatre, and art are doing is extremely important since scholarship is so interdisciplinary these days. It was interesting to observe the overlap of themes and conclusions in presentations coming from different disciplines,” said Ayuso.
She further said that she would return to judge next year, if judges are needed again.
The SRC provided students with a platform to present their academic research to all those who were interested, and for most students being their first opportunity to do so.
The full list of winners is below.
Biological and Agricultural Sciences:
Graduate Students
First Place: Francisco Ortega
Second Place: Manuel Quintanilla
Undergraduate Students
First Place: Arthur Amaral Schneider
Second Place: Jade Dominguez
Behavioral and Social Sciences:
Graduate Students
First Place: Olive Garrison
Undergraduate Students
First Place: Christine Ziemann
Second Place: Suzanne Parker
Physical and Mathematical Sciences:
Undergraduate and Graduate Students Combined
First Place: Jennifer Kobee
Second Place: Jazmin Rodriguez
Business, Economics, and Public Administration:
Undergraduate and Graduate Students Combined
First Place: Michelle Sanchez Ojeda and Thi Diem Quyen Ngo; Diana Torres (Tie)
Second Place: Simranjeet Kaur
Humanities and Letters:
Graduate
First Place: Kayla Kiefer
Second Place: Luc Burdick
Undergraduate
First Place: Darci Ross – Smith
Creative Arts and Design:
Undergraduate Students
First Place: Emelia Reed
Second Place: Madison Darwish
Health, Nutrition, and Clinical Services:
Undergraduate Students
First Place: Kelbi Banducci
