First-year student presents at SUNY research event

Charlize Osbourne was delighted to encounter "so many knowledge-hungry people" at the SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference.

Charlize Osbourne of Fairport, a first-year fine arts major, was one of 32 students across New York to be selected to give oral presentations at the SUNY Student Undergraduate Research Conference at the University of Buffalo earlier this spring. Of the presenters, only two, including Charlize, represented community colleges.

“This is quite an achievement for Ms. Osbourne as a first-year student to be chosen to present her research work along with juniors and seniors from the four-year colleges across SUNY,” said Mark Worrell, assistant professor of philosophy and rhetoric/composition.

Charlize’s project on the legal and medical complications of abortion pills started as an assignment in Mark’s English 101 class. He approached her about developing the assignment into a research project and applying for entry to the conference. After she was accepted, he organized a panel of FLCC faculty and staff to help Charlize prepare for her presentation. (See more on the panel at the end of this article.)

Charlize, who is a 2024 Fairport High School graduate, answered the following questions about her experience.

What prompted you to tackle this topic? How did you research change your thinking about this topic?

Women’s rights have always been important to me. It is terrifying to be woman in this period of time where our rights are actively being taken away. My research definitely changed how I thought about abortion pills and the services that come with them. I was not aware of how many services can help women receive abortion healthcare, and I am grateful to my research for providing it.

Talk about your experience with the panel of faculty and staff who helped you prepare.

All the faculty I worked with for this presentation helped me immensely. However, Dr. Worrell and Professor Andrea Cornett were my biggest supporters. Dr. Worrell helped me focus my writing and economize my final speech. Professor Cornett was extremely helpful in helping me design and refine my presentation. Without all of these people I would not have had a presentation that was anywhere near successful.

Talk about your experience at the conference.
I delivered my presentation and afterwards attended some oral and poster presentations that were incredibly intellectual and uplifting. It is comforting to know that my generation is full of so many knowledge-hungry people. Everywhere you turned someone was learning something new and teaching something inspiring. I have never been in such a situation as this, and it compares to nothing but itself.

What made you decide to attend FLCC?

I was originally going to attend the School of the Art Institute (SAIC) of Chicago; however, I changed my mind and decided to attend FLCC. My high school friends and I all decided to go to FLCC because of the cost of attending and location. I have never regretted going to FLCC over SAIC, I am so grateful to go to a community college and proud of myself for choosing this over SAIC. After two semesters here, I can definitely say this was the right choice.

What are your plans after FLCC?

I am going to a four-year school to finish my bachelor’s degree in fine arts to become an art director/curator. Some schools I am considering include NYU, SUNY Purchase, SUNY Binghamton, and Yale University. After receiving my bachelor’s, I hope to intern somewhere applying my schooling into my field of study.

*The reveiw panel consisted of faculty members Liz Brownell in graphic design, Delia Ackerman in American Sign Language, Richard Cook and Adriana Mucedola in communications, Christy Parker in biology, Christine Quinn in mathematics, Carrie Brewer in computing sciences, Sarah Heidebrink-Bruno and Charlotte Cline in humanities, and Sarah Morgan, Barron Naegel and Andrea Cornett in fine arts.

Staff panelists were Leticia Kalweit, instruction and assessment reference librarian; Barbara Senglaub, instructional specialist for Visual and Performing Arts; Christine Dow and Dustin Stalnaker, student success coaches; and Nicholas Aiezza, coordinator of The Write Place.