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On November 17, 2022, the Department of Social Work at the University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) hosted the 2022 Student Research Symposium in the Gibson University Center on the Monticello campus. Due to restrictions during the pandemic, it was the first time that the symposium had been held since 2019.

The theme of the symposium was human rights. Students from the UAM School of Arts of Humanities, the UAM School of Business and the UAM School of Social and Behavioral Sciences presented projects during the event.

Dr. Steven Harper, dean of the UAM School of Arts and Humanities, and Dr. Clinton Young, dean of the UAM School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, served as judges. The event was open to the public, who were invited to vote for the People’s Choice.

“All the participants in this year’s symposium had high-quality research projects. It was very difficult to pick a winner, and all the participants are to be commended for their hard work and their first-rate presentations,” Dr. Young said.

Andrew Raines, a psychology major from Warren, Arkansas, was awarded first place for his project, “Testing Memory and Decision Making.”

Jalquala Davis of Monticello, Arkansas, Destini Evans of Monticello, Arkansas, Samantha Ellis of Kingsland, Arkansas, and Krystal Ramirez of Warren, Arkansas, took second place for their project, “The ‘Me Too’ Movement.”

Mercedes Binns of Monticello, Arkansas, Lynsy Foreman of Crossett, Arkansas, and Hailie Spaulding of Hamburg, Arkansas, took third place for their project, “Black Lives Matter Movement.”

Lawrence Adetunji of Hope, Arkansas, Elizabeth Gill of Warren, Arkansas, Hannah Holdbrook of Forney, Texas, and Hunter Selvey of Dumas, Arkansas, were selected as the People’s Choice for their project, “Student Perceptions of Big Data, Privacy Concerns and Data Disclosure.”

The inaugural event was created and organized in 2018 by Marie Jenkins, associate professor and director of Social Work at UAM. Jenkins explained the history of the event, stating, “The symposium is open to all students regardless of major. This event was created to provide students with an opportunity to conduct and present their original research in an interdisciplinary format. It is especially beneficial for students who have never done a formal presentation and might be intimidated by a larger format. Also, it does not carry the financial burden of an off-campus and/or out-of-town/state conference, which might be prohibitive to some of our students.”

For more information about the symposium, contact the Department of Social Work at 870-460-1747.