Graduate students presented their long labored final projects for all to see in Maucker Union and Russell Hall Wednesday. The eighth annual Graduate Student Symposium was held throughout the day, split into three main events: poster presentations, oral presentations and creative performances from noon to 9 p.m.

Susan Schwieger, Director of Graduate Student Life, said there were 71 graduate students participating and 27 graduate faculty judges.

Topics ranged from neurobiology to psychology to speech and language pathology. 

According to some graduate students like Amy Davison, who’s majoring in health, physical education and leisure services, the symposium is a great resource for students. 

Davison went on to point out the incentives the Graduate College offers students who participate, listing the work opportunities that could come with presenting research.

Davison, whose work focused on alternative methods to medication for treating post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans, also noted the Graduate Student Symposium was a good place to talk to other people about their own projects and find similarities among them. 

Salomi Aladia, graduate social psychology major, presented research that monitored Liberal versus Conservative ideals and their effects on racism within the individuals who held the ideals. She found the responses to her project from other people one of the most helpful aspects of the graduate symposium.

Other graduate students, like Corina Klein, clinical psychology major, were just happy to have the practice for other potential presentations in the future. Members of the Graduate College agreed that this was an important opportunity for graduate students and their future, as well as the future of the graduate college itself. 

“It’s important to have students showcase their work to faculty and other students as well as nationally because it presents an opportunity to highlight the graduate platform,” Schwieger said.