Welcome to Gustavus Adolphus College’s Student Stories Series!
National Conference on Undergraduate Research Presenter
Major: Exercise Physiology
What was/is your career opportunity/experience (i.e. internship, shadowing experience, research)?
The National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), an annual conference for students, aims to encourage undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity across all subject areas. Presenters from all higher education institutions and fields are welcome at this conference of student scholars. All things considered, this conference offers an unusual setting for recognizing and promoting undergraduate student accomplishments; it presents examples of excellent research, scholarship, and creative endeavors; and it helps students prepare for the workforce. At this conference we will use a poster board to display our findings from our exercise physiology course, HES-300: Research Presentation, in a way that is both readable and understandable for the general public and other students. While we are there, we will also go to other lectures and presentations to see what other research is being done in a variety of disciplines.
How did you get the opportunity/experience? What steps did you take to achieve this?
I took a class here at Gustavus called HES-300: Research Presentation. During this class, I was in a group with three of my classmates, and throughout the course of the semester, we designed and conducted a research study. Once we finished conducting the research study, we ran tests to find the results of the study, and at the end of the semester, we had to present our research to our classmates. At the end of our class, our professor let us know that we could present at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research if we wanted and if we got accepted. As a group, we decided we wanted to present, so we sent our abstract to the conference and applied to the Engaged Learning Fund because we knew we wouldn’t have been able to go if we didn’t get help financially.
Tell us more about your accomplishment.
My group applied and was accepted to present our research study that we conducted through the Health and Exercise Science department here at Gustavus at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research in Pittsburgh, PA. The Conference was held at the David L Lawrence Convention Center. We presented our research on Tuesday, April 8th.
Who were some of the people who helped you most at Gustavus to get this opportunity? What did you learn from them?
The person who helped me the most at Gustavus with this opportunity was my professor Stephanie Otto. She is the one who encouraged us to go and present at this conference and expressed that it is an excellent opportunity for us to be a part of. She helped us while we were designing and conducting our research study which helped us be more successful with our research study. She also helped us apply to the conference and while we were in Pittsburgh. One thing I learned from her was that it is important to get out of your comfort zone and do things even if you are unsure. Without her I wouldn’t have gone on this incredible trip to present my research with my classmates.
How did the Engaged Learning Funds help you be able to complete this experience?
The Engaged Learning Funds made this trip possible financially. If I wasn’t able to receive the Engaged Learning Fund, being a full-time college student, I wouldn’t have been able to afford my plane ticket, the conference registration fee, or the hotel.
How have you applied things you’ve learned here at Gustavus to this opportunity? (i.e., Career & Self Development, Communication, Critical Thinking, Equity & Inclusion, Leadership, Professionalism, Teamwork, Technology)
I applied communication, critical thinking, leadership, and teamwork skills when we were designing and conducting our research study by working through issues that came up, working with my group members, and communicating with my group members and our participants. I applied professionalism during our time at the conference by dressing professionally and being professional while we were presenting our work.
