Students present their research last year during the Engaged Scholar Symposium. PHOTO COURTESY MIGUEL RAMIREZ
The Office of Engaged Scholarship and Learning is calling for students to submit abstracts before Feb. 21 for the 2024 Engaged Scholar Symposium.
The symposium is designed to provide students with a platform to engage with peers and community by showcasing their skills, according to the event description.
Erika Pacheco, Engaged Scholarship and Learning program specialist, said the symposium helps students “grow as emerging professionals and agents of change.”
The symposium is open to students from all academic disciplines.
Presenters are asked to prepare a “poster presentation, a delivery talk or oral presentation or creative work presentation,” Pacheco said.
The Office of Engaged Scholarship and Learning offers students the Engaged Scholar and Artist Award, a grant of $2,000 for individual students, according to the website.
Funding may be used for a combination of student wages, travel and allowable materials for the research.
When students receive the award, they are required to participate in the symposium or volunteer in other events.
The Rider asked about the benefits of participating in the symposium.
Fernando Gonzalez, a chemistry and biology senior who is a participant and awardee for the 2024 symposium, said participating is “a good way of practicing presenting my research and getting those skills.”
Kristal Garcia, a biomedical science sophomore who is also an awardee in the 2024 symposium, said she decided to participate to challenge herself.
“I decided to take this opportunity because I personally have a lot of trouble presenting, and I felt like I want to challenge myself,” Garcia said. “And I have been to a conference before and I did not participate. So I thought, ‘OK, I guess I know what’s going to happen. So why not try it out?’”
The Rider asked Gonzalez and Garcia what they are researching.
“What we try to do is create these new molecules that have never been made before and try to use them or see how they can be used as catalysts for certain reactions,” Gonzalez said.
Garcia said her presentation “will be about finding an alternative treatment for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, which includes anti-diabetic medication, Metformin, and a focal adhesion kinase inhibitor.”
“This is because Metformin has been shown in other studies to be cytotoxic to these cancer cells, and the focal adhesion kinase inhibitor helps separate the cells to get treated more easily,” she said.
Both students will present a research poster individually for the symposium.
“There’s no downsides to the scholarship,” Gonzalez said. “It’s kind of like if you enjoy research, might as well just apply for it and get paid for it.”
The event will take place April 16 on the Brownsville campus and April 17 on the Edinburg campus.
The abstract submitted must be a descriptive paragraph between 100 and 500 words that covers all the parts of the project and can be written in English, Spanish or both, according to the website.
Before submitting the abstracts, presenters have resources to help get their presentation in top shape.
Students may visit the presentation guidelines, attend one of the workshops or follow one of the templates the Engaged Scholarship and Learning Office offers, according to the website.
“Students can submit their work through our website and we have links,” Pacheco said. “They’ll be submitting their work through submittable.”
The deadline to submit an abstract is 11:59 p.m. Feb. 21, she said.
