Honors Students Accepted at National Undergraduate Research Venue
By Matthew Reed Comment Staff
It is an incredible achievement for one student to represent Bridgewater State University for an event, whether it is on the state or national level. Recently, two Bridgewater State students earned honors on the national level.
Honors students Robert Guillette and Janelle Roberts will have their research papers presented at the Posters on the Hill event.
Both students’ research studies are vastly different. Robert Guillette’s study uses mathematical research to predict the retreat of glaciers due to climate change.
“When I first started attending Bridgewater State University never in a million years would I have imagined that I’d be involved in so many great opportunities,” said Guillette in a press release. “Participating in the Adrian Tinsley Program for Undergraduate Research has opened up so many doors for me.”
Guillette said that while at the event, he hopes to talk to those in Congress and address the topic of climate change.
In contrast, Janelle Roberts’ study focuses on education and diversity. Fifth grade students participated in the study where they learned different perspectives of the American Revolution from children’s book as they were told from multiple perspectives including, from the Patriots and British, to African Americans and Native Americans.
Her focus was on critical literacy. She said that it was important that the students examine the text and ask questions.
Roberts’ study concluded that the children learned more about the issue of diversity and beliefs involved in the American Revolution from the children’s books, than if they were to read a textbook. “There students were engaged by the different perspectives,” she said.
“I am honored to have been selected for such a prestigious event and to be able to have the opportunity to represent Bridgewater State University,” said Roberts in a press release.
Posters on the Hill is one of the most competitive undergraduate research events in the country. Only 60 students are selected each year to participate.
Posters on the Hill is an annual event that has been held by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) in Washington D.C. since 1996.
The event’s intention is to help members of Congress understand why undergraduate research is important to students.
According to the CUR website, the undergraduate research community wants to make sure that “the U.S. Congress [has] a clear understanding of the research and education programs…they fund, and nothing more effectively demonstrates the value of undergraduate research than a student participant’s words, work and stories.”
This is the second time in the past decade that students from Bridgewater State were accepted in this event.
Posters on the Hill will be held on April 29 in the Rayburn Building of the U.S. House of Representatives on Capitol Hill.
Matt Reed is a Comment staff writer. Email him at m3reed@student.bridgew.edu.
