Student Achievement Shines at UMW’s Annual Research and Creativity Symposium

University of Mary Washington’s campus was alight with ingenuity last week at its 19th annual Research and Creativity Symposium. Students from across academic disciplines presented results of creative projects and scholarly research cultivated alongside faculty mentors throughout the past year.

Junior education major Maddy Woodard built a website to help teachers integrate arts into the classroom. Senior music majors Nathaniel Harvey and Patrick Lynch teamed up with sophomore computer science major Matthew Fenton to explore audio design for video games. Biological science students William Burkey, Aidan Kimener and Michael Afful studied whether exercise improves memory, while classmates Sabrina Perez, Kori Wilson and Paola Marques examined how different levels of physical activity affect anxiety.

These students and hundreds more gave oral presentations and displayed academic posters, engaging the campus and local community in their work. Events spread across the University in places like the Hurley Convergence Center, Dodd Auditorium, James Farmer Hall and more. Music recitals, art exhibitions and even a tree planting – donated by a UMW alumna in memory of her mother and grandmother, both also alumnae – ensured innovation and tradition from every corner of campus were represented. Read more.