By Julia Hess '15
At Siena College, students don’t wait until they are upperclassmen to undertake original research projects. First-year students across all academic areas finish their freshman academic year by presenting their work during the First-Year Seminar Student Conference.
First-Year Seminar is a foundational course that introduces freshman to the world of academia and helps them develop skills that they will need to be successful at Siena. These classes blend their individual themes, such as sports or local history, with the four Franciscan values: heritage, the natural world, diversity and social justice. As a year-long course, students can choose which course topics to explore.
Their final assignment is to complete an original research project based on their course’s theme. Multiple students from each First-Year Seminar section presented research to fellow students and faculty during the fifth annual conference.
Meg Woolbright, D.A., Professor of English and Director of the First-Year Seminar Meg Woolbright, D.A. organized this event to show the Siena community the innovative research that is done by first-year students.
“The First-Year Seminar Conference gives our freshman a terrific opportunity to share their research with a wider audience and to be asked questions that are really complicated and that will keep them thinking about their work,” Woolbright said.
She also believes in the importance of giving these young students an opportunity to become comfortable with oral communication.
“It is really important for freshman to do a public performance of their research so that they get used to the fact that when they go on in their careers this is what they will have to do,” said Woolbright.
Biology major Elizabeth Wickham ’18 was selected to present her research from the seminar, “War” where she examined the issue of sexual assault in the military. She saw this conference as a way to speak on what she believes is an under-acknowledged topic.
“I loved putting together everything I learned through the research process,” Wickham said. “It was great to be able to share everything I believe on a topic that I think is not talked about enough.”
In addition to the conference, 28 freshmen were selected to be published in “Gleanings,” the First-Year Seminar’s journal of exemplary student writing.
This conference kicked off Siena’s Celebration of Academic Excellence, which displayed the work of Siena students across all levels and disciplines.
