Four UWC Staff Members Present at the STU Undergraduate Research Symposium

by Kathryn Drumheller (4/21/10)

Miami Gardens- The 9th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium at STU took place April 20th and 21st. Four STU UWC staff members presented very diverse research topics at this conference.

On April 20th, Gelien Perez and Kathryn Drumheller presented separate posters on their research. Gelien’s poster, entitled "Discrimination Exists?," examined discrimination Latino students face in educational settings in the U.S. She also used this opportunity to collect responses from attendees that will aid in her data collection for a research project she is developing. Kathryn’s poster presentation, "Secrets and Lies: Deceptioninthe Medical Interview," focused on self-presentational predicaments in the medical interview. This addressed whether or not patients will lie to their doctor when asked embarrassing questions. Kathryn was one of six contributors to this project.

On April 21st, Dr. Kevin Dvorak and Aileen Valdes participated in the oral presentation segment of the conference. They shared the initial findings of their research project that examines code-switching during tutoring session between bilingual (English- and Spanish-speaking) students. Aileen said this experience, “encouraged me to continue researching and learning along with my peers and colleagues. It was a wonderful experience.”