SMU attends its first ACC Meeting of the Minds

Last weekend, the Office of Engaged Learning brought five undergraduate researchers to the ACC Meeting of the Minds at the University of Pittsburgh. This annual symposium invites up to five students from each ACC school to deliver oral presentations or posters. Brianna Freshwater, Vigna Lavu, Taylor Shimizu, Shriya Siddhartha, and Vivian Thai represented SMU and networked with students and faculty from across the country.

Vigna Lavu, a senior studying Biological Sciences with a minor in Environmental Science, presented a poster about her work with Dr. Alexander Chase’s lab. Vigna said, “Being able to represent SMU and share my research to my peers in the ACC was an incredible opportunity that will stay with me through my academic and professional life. . . . It was also refreshing to being exposed to research being done in the social sciences, business, and other fields as I usually do not have the opportunity to explore those areas.”

Brianna Freshwater, a senior studying Anthropology and Sociology, has been working on a project about AP classes in minority white schools (under the mentorship of Dr. Sondra Barringer). Brianna enjoyed “. . . the intimate nature of the conference, [where] meeting other researchers did not mean quick introductions followed by swapping contact information, but rather long conversations that built real connections.” She found that “people were more willing to share their perspectives and critically engage with everyone’s research which personally strengthened how I communicated my research. I highly recommend it to other students!”

Taylor Shimizu, a senior in Chemistry and Health and Society, found the conference “extremely rewarding, as I got to learn about and discuss fascinating research that fellow undergraduates are doing. The intimidate conference provided a special opportunity to make connections and friendships with other researchers across the conference!” Taylor presented research she did in Dr. Neely Myers‘s anthropology lab.

Senior Vivian Thai, a Biology and Health and Society major working with Dr. Elizabeth Berk (Anthropology), said that “The ACC Meeting of the Minds was an incredible opportunity to connect with fellow passionate student researchers. From projects like cranial orthosis for babies to explorations of architecture in horror films, the conference gave undergrads a chance to share their work and learn from one another.” Vivian also remarked about the intimate size of the conference. She said,  “By the end of the weekend, we didn’t just leave with new knowledge about interesting research topics. We left with friends from schools across the country!”