Honors faculty and students across 35 California community colleges came together May 4 at Stanford University for the 14th annual Honors Research Symposium. The Bay Honors Consortium, a group of program directors and counselors from various colleges selected 85 student proposals out of 241 submissions to present at the prestigious event. With over 350 attendees, the symposium gave students a platform to present on a diverse range of topics.
Five students from Los Medanos College were selected to present at Stanford.
Ralph Pineda presented on literature “The Psychology of EVIL: A Literary Exploration of Moral Dissonance in Zola and Amis.” Jerika Harris presented on etymology “Words Matter: Dismantling Sexist Terminology in Women’s Reproductive Health.” Andres Cruz and DiMarco Marenco presented “Dead Asleep: The Cytotoxic Effects of Benzocaine.” Aliyah Ramirez presented “Actions Speak Volumes: East Contra Costa County’s Housing Crisis.”
LMC Honors Director and Symposium Chair Jennifer Saito worked closely with the five students as they prepared their proposals for the selection process. Saito described it as an opportunity for students to deep dive into their original research projects, “learning how to create new knowledge.” For students to present in front of a professional audience provides valuable experience students can apply in the future.
Once selected, students developed their research into a polished 15-minute presentation. Dana Armstrong, faculty coordinator of the honors program at Sacramento City College, emphasized that preparation for the symposium requires a lot of “intensive one-on-one” meetings with a mentor to be successful.
On the day of the event, it opened with keynote speaker Raphael Pelayo, MD., a former community college student and current Stanford professor. Pelayo’s speech centered around his study of sleep and his uphill climb to push California secondary school start times back, after years of research and petitioning for a state bill. He stressed students should continue to seek out information and strive for excellence as their passion drives the world around them.
The symposium was divided into three sessions and presenters with synonymous topics were placed in rooms together, adding a common line of interest to each room. At the end of each presentation, the moderator led a Q&A section for the audience to ask about the content shared.
For many of the LMC presenters, research on their topic preceded submission for the symposium but worked closely with their mentors to develop their topic specifically for Stanford.
Saito notes that this transition of ideas is expected as she acknowledged Pineda’s superb performance in her class, eventually inviting him to create work for the symposium.
“As his mentor, [Pineda] and I met a lot one-on-one, he would tell me about what he’s reading, and he would tell me his ideas. I would give him advice about how to turn that into a research question and then as he was answering his question I was meeting with him and helping him,” Saito said.
Similarly, Ramirez, when reflecting on her presentation, affirms that much of her work preceded submission.
“My research is based on ‘A Tough Climb,’ a special section published in our college paper last semester centered around housing insecurity. But for Stanford I shifted my research into a comparative analysis on the East County leader’s political will to provide affordable housing,” Ramirez said. “My honors director Jen Saito was a big motivator for me to submit for the symposium as she helped me organize my thoughts and opinions as a researcher compared to a journalist.”
The annual symposium celebrates the free thinkers of the next generation, highlighting their ability to answer questions and drive toward inquiry. Especially in honors courses, curiosity is prioritized as “the role of the teacher is to be supportive and facilitate the learning of others” said Honors Professor Christina Goff. Adding how it is crucial to develop students’ ability to think critically and answer questions as researchers.
“Most human beings are researchers,” Saito said. “We ask questions and we find the answers.”
