without excluding potential student populations who cannot afford it. Resolved: Universities and colleges should prioritize affordability and accessibility over the pursuit of prestige. Tara Rivas - “Bridging the Gap: Supporting Student- Athletes to Continue Their Sports and Education Beyond High School” (Session 9) As an international student-athlete and a member of the national basketball team of El Salvador, I have experienced firsthand how difficult it can be to balance academics and athletics. In El Salvador, many young athletes lose their performance or quit sports when entering university due to the lack of guidance, time management, financial support and opportunities at the university level. My project aims to explore ways to bridge this gap by creating a support system that connects student-athletes with international scholarship opportunities, training camps, and professional mentorship. It also seeks to highlight the importance of sports federations investing more effectively in athlete development programs, recognizing that athletes are the ones who drive the growth and visibility of their sport federations. In the future, I aspire to collaborate with organizations like FIBA or the Olympic Committee to strengthen sports development programs, build partnerships between federations and universities, and finance projects that elevate athletes and sports in my country. Through this project, I hope to inspire a new generation of student-athletes to believe that it is possible to pursue both education and sport at the highest level. Antyiva Robertson - see Kellyce Brookes, “Connections of Volleyball” (Poster Session III) Naomi Rodriguez - see Luyando Masocha, “The Sweet Chemistry of Love: Understanding Esters, Aromas, and Attraction” (Session 6) Reid Ronsley - “‘Transgender Ideology’ and the Rise of Transphobia” (Session18) The term “Transgender Ideology” has been used by conservative politicians and media to push the idea that the beliefs transgender people hold about their identities is in actuality an ideology that promotes violence and extremism. In the aftermath of political activist Charlie Kirk’s death, the Oversight Project, backed by the Heritage Foundation, released a petition calling for a new designation for domestic terrorist groups be introduced, called “Transgender Ideology-Inspired Violent Extremism” (TIVE). In a later report titled “Domestic Terrorism Strategic Intelligence Assessment and Designation of Threat Category,” meant to model an internal FBI report, they claim that there have been many recent “terrorism events,” such as mass shootings, perpetrated by people inspired by “transgender ideology.” However, the Gun Violence Archive, which has tracked gun violence and mass shootings statistics since 2013, stated that only 5 out of nearly 6,000 mass shootings had transgender perpetrators. Additionally, experts have asserted that there is no data showing that transgender individuals are prone to committing violence. In reality, transgender people are four times as likely to be the victim of violence than cisgender people. The rhetoric that the Oversight Project is promoting is deliberately falsified and designed to incite hatred. Reid Ronsley - “Individualism through a Post-Apocalyptic Lens” (Session 3) For my senior thesis, I chose to explore the ideology of
individualism and its effects through a creative work, specifically a novella. Individualism is the belief that the individual is more important than the community and that the individual should pursue personal success. In the United States, this belief is paramount, and our nation puts a particular emphasis on competition and achievement. Though this ideology may seem innocent, even liberating, the ramifications of prioritizing individual wants and needs over the needs of the community should be scrutinized heavily. With my thesis, I wanted to focus on the impacts of individualism in an isolated community after a nationwide disaster. This disaster comes in the form of the classic zombie apocalypse, which forces survivors to scrape together resources under the constant threat of danger. This pressure further exacerbates the situation within the safe zone, resulting in a “dog eat dog” environment where people are encouraged to be out for themselves and themselves alone. Though this is a creative work, and the threat of zombies is obviously fictitious, individualism has very real effects on the individual and the community they are a part of, especially during times of stress and strife. Guylah Rose - “Colorguard Experience and Performance” (Session 4) For my project I’m planning to show my experience with Color guard within the flag part of it I’ll have a presentation and I’ll also perform to a song for the symposium on the slideshow I’ll put some pictures and videos of me doing guard in high school my junior and senior year it was a small school so it had like 5 of us in it and I’m also going to perform to the song Bad Desire by Enhypen the English version of it since the song is from a K-pop group the song is 2 minutes and 21 seconds and I’ll need a bit of space for a performance so I don’t hit anyone but I’ll be doing a mix of a presentation and creative type project to make it more interesting than just doing a 10 minute performance I’ll also talk about how I got into colorguard on the slideshow. Jaiden Rose - see Tatem Clary, “Level the Playing Field” (Session 7) Andres Rueda de Leon - “Grief, Social Disconnection, and Development in Middle Adulthood” (Session 15) Middle adulthood is a developmental period marked by significant transitions in biophysical, cognitive, and socio- emotional functioning. During this stage, individuals are more likely to experience major losses, such as the death of parents, long-term friends, or the end of important relationships. These events can heighten vulnerability to prolonged grief and increase the risk of social disconnection or loneliness. This presentation will explore how grief and loneliness intersect during middle adulthood and how their combined impact can influence developmental outcomes. The presentation will examine how prolonged grief contributes to emotional withdrawal, cognitive difficulties, and physical stress responses, as well as how loneliness can become chronic if not addressed. Additionally, the proposal outlines key intervention strategies, including grief- focused therapy, social reconnection approaches, and digital mental health tools shown to reduce loneliness. Understanding the relationship between grief and social disconnection in middle adulthood is essential for developing effective support and promoting healthy development during this life stage. Roberta Rus - see Meghan Ansani, “Interactive Session: Poverty and Economic Insecurity”
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