UAlbany Showcase 2024

The Department of English announced the following awards on Showcase Day:

The Vivian Hopkins Scholarship: Ana Radojevic

The Jeff Berman Award: Emma Pollicino

The Arlene Steinberg Scholarship: Connor Curran

The Leah Lovenheim Award: 

• Winners: 
  • Troy Ashcroft for “Procedural Grief”
  • Victoria Zickas for “I Smoked a Pack of Senecas”
• Honorable Mention: Henry Fisher for “Patrons of the McDonald’s Bar” 

The Shields McIlwaine Award: 

• Winner: Caila Graham for “movie pitches by bitter black woman”
• Honorable Mentions: 
  • Shaya Bock for “ISN’T THIS A WARM WINTER?”
  • Mina Brazinski for “Winter Wraps Around Again”

The Minerva Center for High Impact Learning announced the winners of the 2023-2024 undergraduate research awards on Showcase Day.
 

Fall 2023 Endowed Undergraduate Research Awards

• Nidhi Avasatthi
• Camryn Beckles
• Jasmine Bonadies
• Haley Bowman
• Dadrian Cole
• Maxam Daniels
• Joseph Devito
• Omar Gulmohamad
• Sydney Hanson
• Juliana Hicks
• Sarah Hudi
• Ayden Johnson
• Chai Kam
• Emily Ledyard
• Ashleigh Plante
• Leah Punnoose
• Biancamaria Scricco
• Amal Siddiqui
• Hannah Talbot
   

2024 Sorrell Chesin Research Awards

• Lillian Christensen
• Griffin Haggas
• Sydney Hanson
• Chai Kam
   

2024 Situation Prize

• Kaitlin Fotevski
• Arely Gonzalez Hernandez
• Jeffrey Gregg
• Carleigh Varner
• Kelly Wescott
   

2024 Stanley Fink Legislative Internship

• Daniella Ogbonna
   

2023-2024 Presidential Awards for Undergraduate Research

• Michael Becker
• Haley Bowman
• Kate Bucek
• Jenna Chorba
• Brittany Clarke
• Hilal Dagci
• Nick Diute
• Darvensky Eugene
• Florinda Gjypi
• Trenton Hanan
• Sydney Hanson
• Michael Jakakas
• Emily Lyons
• Anthony Manning
• Mason Nack
• Benjamin Richardson
• Addison Robbins
• Kailyn Sheppeck
• Kate Songer
• Ommar Waraich
• Grace Wright 

The Writing & Critical Inquiry (WCI) Program holds a writing contest for current WCI students each semester to encourage independent thinking, collective reflection and meaningful engagement. 

The program announced the writing contest winners for the academic year on Showcase Day.

Fall 2023

• Personal Inquiry Essay
  • Winner: Laurens Dunham, "Insert Fitting Title Here"
  • Finalists:
    • Eliza Walker, "Finding Community"
    • Bathya Natanova, "Untitled"
       
• Analysis Inquiry Essay
  • Winner: Arely Gonzalez Hernandez, "The Extrinsic Impact of Sociopolitical Factors on Child Language Brokering"
  • Finalists:
    • Laurens Dunham, "Tennessee Transphobia"
    • Kenzie Koster, "Oh, Bats!"
       
• Conversation Inquiry Essay
  • Winner: Arely Gonzalez Hernandez, "Child translators at the doctor’s office? The Controversial Use of Child Language Brokers in the Medical Setting"
  • Finalists:
    • Ethan Gish, "Gun Violence, How Could a Developed Country Look Like This?"
    • Meagan Leung, "The Impact Exposure to Nature has on the Immune System: The Misconceptions, False Narratives, and Negative Impact of Poor Public Health Education"
       

Spring 2024

• Personal Inquiry Essay
  • Winner: Brandon Dor, "A Blind Mind's Eye"
  • Finalists:
    • Ashley Crandall, "I Am Just Like Him"
    • Mmedo Etor, "My Fascinating Hair"
       
• Analysis Inquiry Essay
  • Winner: Atkia Nazifa, "Shadows of Surveillance"
  • Finalists:
    • Ethan San Pedro, "The Lobster Dilemma"
    • Oscar Umana, "Universal Access to Knowledge"
       
• Conversation Inquiry Essay
  • Jovanie Williams, "How Has Contemporary Redlining Contributed to the Depleted Mental Health and the ‘Strong Black Women’ Ideal That is Held in Black Communities?”
  • Anastasiia Kurenkova, "Factors That Led to Lead Poisoning in Children Aged 0-5 Years From the Past and Present”
  • Ethan San Pedro, "Zonings Place in Modern Sustainability"