5 Things to See at the 2018 Festival of Student Achievement

Each year, Rockhurst University celebrates the amazing work of undergraduate and graduate students during the one-day Festival of Student Achievement, scheduled for Friday, April 20. Through performances, awards, presentations and posters, student work from every corner of the University is highlighted. Here are five unique things to check out at this year’s festival:

1. Who Will Be the Hawk of the Year?

The awards ceremony from 2-3:15 p.m. in Arrupe Hall auditorium kicks off FOSA, with students, faculty and staff recognized for their accomplishments in academics, organizations and service throughout the year. Some of the top awards are those voted on by students, including the Hawk of the Year Award.

2. Outstanding Student Work from Every Discipline

Students from every field of study have the chance to do research at Rockhurst, and it shows during FOSA. Come to the poster presentation from 3:15-4:30 p.m. in the first floor of Arrupe Hall and learn from students about everything from the very terrestrial (using citizen science and social media to track reptile and amphibian patterns statewide, a project by senior Heather Counts), to the extraterrestrial (the study of supernovae in the Scorpius-Centaurus star association by senior Ben Franco), to everything in between (research into religious free speech, the affects of concussions and the philosophy of violence, among others).

3. Student Research Project Fits FOSA to a ‘Tea’

To find inspiration for her research project, senior Leena Nabulsi looked into the bottom of her mug.

Nabulsi was already breaking down her favorite beverage, tea, as part of undergraduate research in chemistry. But in her undergraduate Rockhurst Outstanding Research Seminar presentation, she’ll discuss how that project led to the development of an analytical instruments chemistry lab for future RU students looking at caffeine content in different types of tea — one of the many interesting avenues that her original idea led her down.

“What's most exciting for me is being able to turn my passion for tea into something that students can use to apply chemistry to the real world,” she said.

4. PT Student Research on the Stresses of… Being a Physical Therapy Student

A group of students in the doctor of physical therapy program in the College of Health and Human Services will be highlighted during the graduate RORS presentation about a project they’ve begun to measure perceived stress among their peers.

What they’ve found, according to DPT student Brandon Mizner, is that DPT students’ perceived stress levels can have profound impacts on their personal lives and habits.

“f we are able to help lower perceived stress levels even by a little, then we did something right,” he said. “This project also lays the foundation for future research to look deeper into the primary stressors of DPT students and effective stress coping behaviors, among other things.”

5. Students Present Work of All Kinds at Arts Showcase

FOSA closes with a showcase of student arts and artists from 4-6 p.m. in the Greenlease Gallery, in between Sedgwick and Van Ackeren halls. Everything from music to visual art, to students performing monologues, to poetry from students, including Veronica Clay, a Rockhurst junior who, at 19 years old, is already a spoken word veteran and published her first book of poetry, Mile Marker 17, when she was in high school.

View a full schedule of events at rockhurst.edu/fosa.