Students present research on wildlife, K-12 education, and veterans’ mental health

The projects began as assignments in composition courses.

Three FLCC students, Darrick Hayden, Miriam Manning and Kathryn Schultz, had the opportunity to give oral presentations at the annual State University of New York Undergraduate Research Conference Central event this spring.

Organizers selected 51 students from SUNY’s 64 campuses to make oral presentations. Five of those students, including FLCC’s contingent, represented community colleges. This year’s event was held at SUNY Upstate Medical University in late April.

All three began their projects as assignments in composition courses with Mark Worrell, assistant professor of philosophy, rhetoric, and composition.

“This is a strong achievement by the FLCC students to have three of them selected to give oral presentations,” Professor Worrell said. “The students performed well at the conference and handled the questions raised about their research with poise.”

Kathryn Schultz
Kathryn Schultz of Rochester, a fish and wildlife technologies major, presented on “Controlling Free-Roaming Cat Populations and Their Effects on Native Wildlife in North America Using a Combination of TNR and Legal Regulations.” TNR refers to Trap, Neuter, Return.

“The conference was an incredible opportunity to present my research and share my passion for the project with others,” she said. “It was amazing to learn more about new subjects and research from the other speakers. It was such an inspiring event that keeps me excited to see where my academic journey goes next.”

Miriam Manning
Miriam Manning’s project was titled “The Growing Deficit in Social Emotional Learning: The Necessity of Clearly Defined School Programs Focused on Slowing This Deficit in Order to Improve the Social and Emotional Learning of Children from Pre-K through 12^th grade in the United States.” She is a liberal arts major and lives in Middlesex.

“Kids are reaching their developmental milestones later and later. I was curious about why this might be and how the effects of the growing deficit could be reduced,” Manning said.

“Preparing for and attending the conference was definitely a little stressful, but fun as well. It was my first experience presenting my own research at a place where everybody was sharing information on an equal footing,” she added.

Darrick Hayden
Darrick Hayden of Phelps is studying architectural technology. His topic was “Suicide and Suicide Exposure among Military Service Members and Veterans.” Darrick is a veteran who served in the Navy Construction Battalion (CB), also known as the Seabees, for 11 years, and as a member of the ceremonial color guard.

“My biggest achievements in my life so far have been performing at upwards of 60 funerals, most of which were for veterans who passed away of natural causes, but a handful were suicides of young service men and women, and I personally knew two of them,” he said.

Darrick found that suicide rates remain steady among veterans and active-duty service members. He concluded that not enough has been done to protect them. “More eyes need to be put onto this issue,” he said.

Conference Preparation
Prior to the conference, Professor Worrell organized a mock panel of faculty and staff to offer suggestions as the students completed their preparations. The panelists were:

• Delia Ackerman, associate professor in the Humanities Department
• Sarah Heidebrink-Bruno, assistant professor in the Humanities Department
• Christy Parker, professor in the Science and Technology Department
• Leticia Kalweit, instruction and assessment reference librarian
• Christine Dow, healthcare pathways coordinator in the Center for Academic Advising and Transfer Services
• Christine Quinn, assistant professor and chair of the Mathematics Department
• Andrea Cornett, adjunct faculty in the Visual and Performing Arts Department
• Nick Aiezza, coordinator of the Writing Center
• Adriana Mucedola, assistant professor in the Visual and Performing Arts Department

“The students’ acceptance and performance at SUNY SURC, the state’s showcase of undergraduate research, is a testament to the quality of their work and what they have learned at FLCC,” Professor Worrell added. “It was an honor to mentor and support their work.”