LEAP Symposium Showcases Student Work
November 5, 2008
Posted: November 5, 2008
Mapping the epitopes of influenza Virus A. Working in the press unit of the European Union's Committee of the Regions. Studying the historical development of legal thought in Germany during the Weimar Republic. Teaching basic use of English and advanced cross-cultural studies in Seoul, South Korea. These were just some of the extraordinary ways that Mount Holyoke students spent their summer. And on the afternoon of October 31, the MHC community gathered in Kendade Science Center for the LEAP Symposium (Learning from Application) where 52 students discussed their experiences as independent researchers in the laboratory and the field, and in internships in the U.S. and around the globe.
Now in its fifth year, the summer research symposium--newly named LEAP--featured poster and oral presentation sessions that showcased the creativity, diversity, and talent of the College's students. Participants included recipients of a host of prestigious fellowships: the Weed Summer Research Scholar Fellowship, the Mount Holyoke Summer Research Fellowship, the MHC-Yale Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, the Global Studies Summer Fellowship, MHC-Yale Materials Research Surface Interface Center Undergraduate Fellowship, and the Career Development Center Internship and Research Award, as well as the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives Internship Program.
"LEAP challenges students to reflect upon their summer internship or research and place it in the context of their curriculum at MHC," said Jale Okay, director of international experiential learning at the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives. "The symposium offers a sampling of the remarkable ways that Mount Holyoke students apply their liberal arts education to make meaningful contributions as interns and researchers--and highlights their passion for learning through immersion in a culture, project, or profession."
Along with sharing the highlights of their work, participants frequently described discovering a new direction for both their academic studies and career goals. "I always wanted to try clinical research," said Sookee Choi '09 of Staten Island, New York, whose poster presentation chronicled her research at Boston Children's Hospital on how cortisteroids disrupt brain systems for memory. "Now I know that I'd like to get some more experience as a research assistant before applying to medical school."
Penny Gill, dean of the college, described the LEAP Symposium as a moment of "closing the circle. Students have applied and expanded their classroom knowledge in settings outside our gates and investigated the practical implications of their academic studies. Now, as they report back to their intellectual community, the fundamental tasks of teaching and learning come together for the benefit of the College and the larger communities in which we live and work."
The 2008 LEAP Symposium was supported by the Career Development Center, the Department of Biological Sciences, the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives, the Office of the Academic Deans, the Office of the Associate Dean of Faculty for Sciences, the Office of the Dean of the College, the Office of the Dean of Faculty, and the Speaking, Arguing, and Writing Program.
Related Links:
LEAP Symposium '08 Student Profiles
McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives
Permanent link to this story: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/news/stories/5665930
