Seminar in Thinking and Writing (STW) classes gathered in a “Celebration of Writing” event to present their semester’s research projects on November 14.
The people’s choice award was given to freshman Harbinder Jawanda for his project entitled “Performance Enhancing Drugs.”
The whole-class project award was granted to Christine Cusick’s Honors Seminar in Thinking and Writing class for their “Culture Shock” work.
The faculty and staff choice was awarded to sophomore Stephanie Sholtis for her work entitled “Connecting the Pieces.”
The “Celebration of Writing” began in 2011 and has been organized annually by Dr. Emily Wierszewski, professor of English and composition.
“I always appreciated how excited it got my students about their research. Students tend to get really creative and competitive thinking about how to attract an audience to their work. It’s also a great opportunity for them to share their findings with a wider authentic audience. It shows their work has validity beyond the classroom,” said Wierszewski.
Students were acknowledged for their work and winners were chosen across three categories.
According to freshman biology and forensics major Mikayla Beranek, most students chose “medical or technology related topics. The assignment was to choose something we could relate to.”
“I chose youth injuries and sports. Injuries are on the rise because children start sports earlier, which relates to injuries that can affect you later in life. Sports are good for health and fitness but there are negative effects, especially if you’re injured often,” said freshman physician assistant major Mary Harmon.
Hayley Morgan, freshman elementary and special education major, chose her topic due to her grandfather’s recent passing. “I wanted to learn more about the disease to understand the diagnosis,” she said.
Freshman chemistry major Chelsea Gregori selected her topic for similar sentimental reasons, as her grandfather was diagnosed with prostate cancer. “I was getting older when my grandpa was getting treatment so I became interested in understanding his treatment through this assignment,” she said.
“My project was on the effects that technology has on social interactions, relationships, body language and education. I appreciate the benefits but wanted to study the negative attributes that are now being studied,” said junior psychology major Geary Dettling, whose interest was in the future of technology.
Wierszewski noted that it is helpful for the Seton Hill University (SHU) community to understand more clearly what STW students do, “since all students take it and it’s an important part of the Liberal Arts curriculum.”