On April 7, the 18th annual Celebration of Academic Excellence (CAE) was held in the Elberson Fine Arts Center. This event provides students and some faculty with an opportunity to present their recent research and insights on an academic topic of their choice, often related to their major. After their presentations, audience members asked questions inspired by the presenters and their topics, furthering their knowledge and understanding.
In the morning, the faculty opened the session with their presentations on a variety of topics in reference to their personal research and community. From Professor Jalonda Thompson’s research into career advancement for mid-level women, to Professor Robinson’s presentation regarding her personal representation of grief translated into mixed media art, and a collaborative presentation of Salem’s faculty and staff who visited Morocco this past summer.
From there, the sessions were split by discipline, including the College Honor students, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, English and Creative Writing, and the Visual and Performing Arts. Students were able to officially present their projects and research in either Hanes or Shirley Auditoriums, or with posters in the Velma Mason Davis Gallery, talking directly to attendees. Depending on a student’s discipline and whether or not they are in honors dictates the amount of presenting they must do during CAE.
I got the chance to speak to one of the student presenters who displayed two of her research projects. Jazmin Loera-Caballero is a senior honors student who is double-majoring in History and English, with a Creative Writing concentration. Her presentation, “Translating Historical Research into a Compelling Setting,” fulfilled her requirement as an honors student, and her display of “La Llorona: From Boogeyman to Heroine Across Time” was her English and Creative Writing project. Both of her research projects culminated in two short stories, which she hopes to publish. For students who present at CAE, they are displaying a culmination of a semester’s — sometimes year-long — in-depth research on their chosen topic. Public speaking can be nerve-racking for some; Loera-Cabellero admitted to being quite nervous, but once she stepped on the stage, “I knew the people I was presenting with, it was super nice to have a supportive group of humans. Please don’t be scared of the audience.” When deciding on what to focus on for her projects, Loera-Caballero looked at what she was most interested in and inspired by. “Why bother with something I don’t like? It’s going to be tedious,” she said.
The Celebration of Academic Excellence allows students and other guests to witness months of hard work and dedication produced by their peers and faculty. Salem is all about being a community of supportive learning and growth. This event continues to allow us to learn, inspire, and lift one another up.
