Symposium Weekend: Celebrating the Academic Year

In the last full week before final exams every spring, Saint Michael's celebrates the end of the academic year with the Academic Symposium. Throughout the week, students present their work that they have spent either a semester or a full year completing, and it's really a fantastic experience. I know -- "academic symposium" doesn't sound too exciting. But, to know so many of these students and see the culmination of months and months of hard work is really amazing.

The week starts off with presentations from the Fine Arts department on Monday and Tuesday, which includes the student recitals for many of those who have been taking music lessons for the last year. On Wednesday, senior Media Studies, Journalism, and Digital Arts (known as MJD) majors present their final projects that they have worked on for the entire year. They consist of documentary films, web documentaries, and books, all of which require a huge amount of time (conducting interviews, editing, research, and more). Here are a few of my favorites!

Guarding the Flame: Classic Automobiles and Their Custodians
A documentary film by Sean Faust and Connor Vandagriff

Intronet: An Exploration of Introversion in the Digital Age
A book by Erin Murphy

Cabin Fever: A Behind the Scenes Look at American Summer Camps
A book by Susanna Shigo (blog here)

Not Forgotten: Death and The Evolution of Memorialization in the 21st Century
A documentary film by Kathryn Miyahira and Paul Detzer (Kathryn's blog here)

Not pictured:

The Talk: Sexuality Education in a Promiscuously Prude America

A documentary film by Meghan Lynch, Julie Shea, and Jessica St. George

Watch the film here!

Over the course of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, there are many research presentations all over campus. Many of these come out of various courses, but many of them are also from independent research! It's impossible to make it to all of them, especially when you have your own classes and commitments. However, I was able to make it to my good friend Erin's fantastic presentation entitled: The Evolution of Anti-Abortion Terrorism: Examining Attacks by Christian Extremists as Acts of Domestic Terrorism in the United States.

Erin's presentation!

Finally, Saturday is the campus-wide poster session in which students from many of the departments on campus are able to present their research and work in a concise little poster! It's nice to have all of these posters in one contained area so that students and other visitors are able to see all sorts of research without having to go too far! A bunch of my friends were presenting. Here are a few!

Fiona Moynihan '16
Childhood Bipolar Disorder: Epidemic or Misdiagnosis?

Jordan Moore '16
Stage Management for "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Mariah Kelley '16
Social and Academic Anxiety in the Context of the High School Classroom

Anna-Maria Forger '17
Costume Design for "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Patrick Cornacchio '18 & Melissa Hickox '18
Dramaturgy for "The Crucible" & Stage Management for "The Crucible" 

Nathan Dean '16
Surface Enhanced Flourescence from Magnesium Nanoparticles

Symposium is a really nifty way to finish off the year right before the insanity of finals hits everybody. If you're in the midst of your own finals, I wish you the best of luck!