By Katherine Buerke ’26, staff writer
LVC’s annual Inquiry Symposium took place on Thursday, April 24 from 11:00—12:30p.m. Students from across disciplines shared their projects and research in Mund, presenting to fellow students, faculty and staff.
Maddisyn E. Behney, a senior biochemistry, molecular biology and environmental science major presented research titled “Evolution of the Expansin Superfamily in Bryophytes and Green Algae.” Bheney’s research was recently published in Protoplasma, an international biology journal.
Inquiry provided Bheney with the opportunity to share her work with students from all majors.
“I love being able to share my passion and research with a wider audience,” Bheney said. “It’s valuable to be able to share different perspectives because as a society we benefit from learning from each other.”
Dawson Boyer, a sophomore neuroscience major, echoed these sentiments. “It’s interesting to be able to share your research with people who may not be familiar with it. It helps you get a wider view of things.”
Boyer presented research examining reaction times in athletes vs. non-athletes, and between athletes in different sports.
Other projects presented a combination of research and creativity.
Bernadette McLain, a freshman English and creative writing major, shared a story written in Spanish inspired by research about social stratification in Colombia.
Rose Grisbacher, a junior creative writing and creative arts major and Kohai Pavan, a junior creative writing and English major, presented their children’s story “And the Explorers Kept Coming”. The story is based on Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, retold from the perspective of the Igbo gods.
Eakin, a junior interaction design major, displayed a project on eco-anxiety inspired by Dr. Machado’s “Art as a Social Practice” course.
Her project, titled, “Sea-Renity: The Global Plastic Crisis & Mental Well-Being (an Intervention)” explored the presence of plastic trash on clean beaches, and ways to prevent eco-anxiety. Eakin created a portable Zen garden that allows individuals to interact with cleaning beaches in a manageable environment.
“Inquiry gives me a chance to chance to get other people motivated by my research and leave inspired,” she said.
Inquiry also included the academic and departmental awards, held in Leedy Theater starting at 3 p.m. Students across majors were honored for their academic and extracurricular achievement.