Stan State had its 32nd Annual Student Research Competition on Friday, Mar. 9 where 10 delegates were chosen to compete at the 32nd CSU Annual Statewide Student Research Competition being held at CSU Sacramento (Sacramento State) May 4 and 5.

The research competition was divided into six different categories with a first, second, and third place winner.

The categories were: Undergraduate Arts & Humanities, Biological & Natural Sciences, Graduate Social Sciences, Undergraduate Social Sciences, Undergraduate Physical Sciences, Graduate Arts & Humanities.

37 students presented research or a creative project on topic of their choice with the help from their faculty sponsor.

In the Undergraduate Social Sciences session, Jazareth Valencia (junior, Music Education) presented her research about how to construct a successful music program on a low budget. She talked about how schools in the Bay Area are funded through the majority of donations and outside fundraising versus a low income school in Ceres where they receive funding for almost everything.

“The parents from the wealthier districts have the means to afford all of that, they don’t have a problem paying $800 to let their child do marching band but if you ask a parent in Ceres to pay $800 then that’s going to be a bigger issue,” Valencia said. “Parents have the biggest influence on the programs.”

Valencia placed third in the Undergraduate Social Sciences session.

In the Undergraduate Physical Science category, Kirsten Villa (senior, Computer Science) created an artificial intelligence travel agent program that did more than just book flights, hotels, and rental cars. She designed her program to find events and activities happening in the area a person is planning on traveling to and then this program would do all the research and present the user with options for things to do.

“A vacation is more than just finding a hotel, it requires a lot of planning and research,” Villa said.

She began writing this program as an assignment when she was taking a computer science course during the Fall 2017 semester and has continued working on it because she believes it has the possibility of being a very successful program.

In the Graduate Social Sciences session, Susana Dias (graduate, Social Work) and Joleen Hammell (graduate, Education) both presented.

Dias presented her research about understanding Latina’s perspective of genetic testing for predisposition to gynecological cancers. She based her research on her own personal history and she believes that the lack of bilingual health professionals has left Latina’s without the proper education on the subject of genetic testing.

“If there was more information there could be more lives saved and if it is caught early then money on treatment could be saved too,” Dias said.

She hopes to take her research as far as possible and work within communities to make changes to destigmatize any cultural or religious ideas that discourage women from seeking these services.

Dias placed third in the Graduate Social Sciences session.

Hammell presented her research on exploring the impact of online and Face-to-Face discourse on collaboration and critical thinking. Hammell teaches eighth grade and she talked about how this time is important in the development of a child since it is during this time where students begin to care what others think. She focused her research on integrating online forums to a physical presence in the classroom.

“The advances in technology get students involved, they make them confident and provide them an environment where there is no anxiety,” Hammell said.
The 10 delegates chosen to represent Stan State at the CSU Statewide research competition will be going to Sacramento State May 4 and 5.