The High-PURCS of High Point University
By Lindsay Sugarman
The Department of Undergraduate Research and Creative Works (URCW) has been a flourishing aspect of High Point University throughout the past year, after Dr. Joanne Altman became the director and initiated a campus wide convergence of students involved in research on campus. The URCW on campus promotes learning outside of the classroom, and encourages partnerships with faculty members to produce works suitable for publication, exhibition or presentation in the academic and professional setting.
I began working with Dr. Altman and the Department of URCW last fall when my professor and mentor, Dr. Anna Piperato, urged me to submit an abstract of my art history paper to an upcoming conference. I was hesitant to do so at first; I had no idea what a conference involved, and even more concerning, I wasn’t as familiar with my art history paper as I was when I wrote it the previous semester. After my submission was turned in, I was accepted to present at the State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium (SNCURCS), and had only a little over a month to perfect a presentation. I began reading my art history paper over and over again, familiarizing myself with the words, and created a multi-slide presentation to accompany it. I met with Dr. Altman to show her my progress. “That’s wonderful that you can memorize your paper,” she said. “But I’m going to teach you a technique that will make you remember the contents of your paper like the back of your hand, without memorizing.” And that she did.
By the time I presented at SNCURCS in November, I remembered my research with no hesitation, and no memorization.
Because of that wonderful experience at SNCURCS, I now am enthusiastic to show off my undergraduate research at other conferences. Not only did the support that the Department of URCW displayed and the guidance that Dr. Altman provided allow me to learn a completely innovative method of conducting research, but it taught me to successfully remember and present it with confidence.
Working so closely with the Department of Undergraduate Research and Creative Works, I am excited and proud to say that High Point University is hosting their very own academic conference, the High Point University Research and Creativity Symposium, High-PURCS for short. Students from all schools, majors, and minors are invited to participate, and it is a great opportunity for students to showcase their research in a professional environment. On April 25, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., students from a wide range of fields will gather together for this interdisciplinary conference and present their work in poster form, oral presentation, brief performance, or exhibit. The Department of Undergraduate Research and Creative Works has received many abstract submissions and is looking forward to the day of the conference, when more than simply the faculty can see just how driven and motivated High Point University students are.
Students were required to complete their research outside of the classroom, inspiring themselves with the sole purpose of intellectual curiosity. The Department of URCW hopes that through the process of researching and formulating a presentation for the High-PURCS conference, students will have learned the art of good communication, acquired knowledge from not only the books and scholarly articles they implemented in their final papers, but also their faculty mentors as well. And they will have begun a critical inquiry into the field they hope to contribute to after graduation.
In preparation for this groundbreaking conference, students have been collaborating with their peers on projects, partnering with their faculty mentor to produce a stronger presentation and learning what a life in academe is like. Throughout the past year, while students began and completed their own research and creative works, the URCW has been preparing as well. Spreading the word about the URCW on campus has been simple enough in the context of faculty and students already involved with research. But there are many students on campus who are not avid participants in undergraduate research and creative works that the department wishes to reach out to. And in creating an HPU specific conference, the URCW has generated interest in the world of academics, and has made it known that undergraduate research is not limited to simply the sciences or the mathematics field, but research can be conducted in any field.
My own professor and mentor, Dr. Piperato, advised me to take another conference under my belt, as I was already conducting undergraduate research in the field of art history. The High-PURCS conference, she said, would be the perfect opportunity to share my academic research and opinions with contemporaries in my field, as well as faculty and students in other disciplines. As a student whose research happens to be highly interdisciplinary, I jumped at the idea. Now, with the guidance of my mentor and the assistance from the Director of URCW, I have been expanding my knowledge past my usual course schedule and have learned the art of collaboration. Undergraduate research on the campus of High Point University allows me to work under the guidance of my mentor, but research like a professional in my field. I may still be a student, but I am progressing quickly to the status of an academic. The Department of Undergraduate Research and Creative Works made it possible for me to get my foot in the door in my scholarly disciplines. The High-PURCS conference on April 25 will be the foundation for more opportunities to arise for students all over campus, as well as prove to the faculty and academic world that at High Point University, the research that students conduct and present is truly extraordinary.
Lindsay Sugarman is a sophomore English literature major at High Point University and continues to work closely with the Department of Undergraduate Research and Creative Works on campus.