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| 2006 - CONNECTING CREATIVITY |
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Connecting Creativity - Research Symposium
Hard work and long hours culminated in excellent presentations at this year's Research Symposium and FAMfest, April 7-8, 2006. The symposium included 141 presentations, 175 student participants, 22 departments and 46 faculty members.
According to University President Dr. Robert R. Ivany, “The symposium is brought to life through the dedication of our professors and the intellectual rigor, artistic verve and enthusiasm of our students. The result is exciting undergraduate research, articulate presentations and the involvement of the entire community.”
Engaging in research projects with faculty members provides students special learning opportunities that deepen their knowledge of a subject. Students develop analytical and writing skills and emerge from the experience as critical thinkers and confident speakers. Undergraduate research is an increasingly important component of the student's educational experience across the curriculum. Most major programs as well as the Honors Program offer a capstone experience consisting of creative scholarship in the student’s major, guided by a faculty advisor. Most students regard their undergraduate research project as the highlight of their university experience. |
Presentation Winners
Oral Session – First: Jorge Iglesias and William Collopy
Second: Jeanette Kutach and Matthew Jefferson Third: Joshua Gautreau and Christina Ayad Poster Session – First: Ara Ayeras and John Avila Jr. Second: Liliana Nañez and Melissa Blancas Third: Natalie Jabbour |
FAMfest
Support for fine arts and appreciation for the creativity of students have grown, thanks to the second annual FAMfest. This showcase of film, art and music gives the UST community the opportunity to participate in the artistic verve displayed by the students. This year’s FAMfest included paintings, installations, poetry readings and musical acts. “It is essential for the University to host an event that highlights students’ artistic talent,” FAMfest organizer Cody Ledvina said. “FAMfest gives students such a chance.” |
East Meets West: One Student’s Pilgrimage Through Southeast Asia
Walking across the stage on May 20 with a joint major in Catholic Studies and international studies is a longer journey than some students travel. For Tram “Chum” Nguyen, the journey included dedicating six months to the country of her birth, Vietnam. “I was blessed to earn one of the Freeman Asia Scholarships from the Institute of International Education (which also announces Fulbright Awards),” she said. Nguyen was born in Vietnam and emigrated to the United States when she was seven years old. Nguyen’s sojourn through Southeast Asia included North and South Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea. She reconnected with some family members, including grandparents, brushed up her language skills, and earned 12 credit hours – six in international studies and six in language – at Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City. During her studies, she stayed in the dormitory offered at a convent, and visited and joined in the activities for disabled children affected by Agent Orange. She’s the second oldest of five children. Her parents share a common ambition for their children.
Her father not only learned English when he emigrated, he earned a GED and also learned Spanish. Learning Spanish allowed him to rise to supervisory status at the manufacturing factory where he and his wife work. Nguyen’s mother wants to maintain the culture and history of Vietnam, so she has declined to learn English; however, she has since learned cosmetology and hair styling.
Nguyen was drawn to St. Thomas after a routine campus visit with representatives from Admissions. Always a hard worker at Milby High School, her efforts paid off in the form of a St. Thomas Aquinas Scholarship and generous federal aid. “With my heightened interest in theology and philosophy, I knew that St. Thomas would provide the best environment for my educational endeavors,” she said.
She praises Sr. Paula Jean Miller, FSE, in Catholic Studies and Dr. Hans Stockton, along with other faculty in international studies, for working with her ambitious plans. She states, “I attended St. Thomas with somewhat of a plan, but I felt enlightened when I found the Center for International Studies, which helped to mold me into a well-educated cosmopolitan individual. The International Studies Department no doubt has exceeded my expectations.” She wants to become an immigration lawyer.
"Catholic Studies, which helps connect one’s faith with one’s profession, has left an indelible imprint on me,” she said. “Catholic Studies will help me become a just and moral Catholic lawyer.” She also looks to her USTinsights mentor, a caseworker at Catholic Charities, and has gained experience as president of the Catholic Studies Honor Society, Alpha Tau Omikron Omega. |
Opportunities for Success Revealed
Nam Xuan Nguyen was eight years old when he moved with his family from Vietnam to Houston. Since he knew no English, he avoided going to school during his first year in the nation’s fourth largest city. “When I was nine, I started in second grade.” However, he says this with no trace of bitterness. School was and remains his ticket to success. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo paid for a big chunk of college. Starting in a field of more than 200 qualifiers, he was one of 15 finalists to win a $10,000 School Art Scholarship. This brought him to the University of St. Thomas and its partnership with the Glassell School of Art. He had to enroll as an art major to keep the scholarship, but now art is one of his minors, along with philosophy and chemistry. Biology is his major. When he graduates in 2008, he hopes to become a reconstructive plastic surgeon. And this is where his plans take him back to his art. When he reproduces a face in charcoal or oil, he pays attention to details that others might miss. The same is true when he examines genes from a rare species of sea urchin. He can find profound differences and similarities in the obscurest of details.
In the 2006 Research Symposium, his art was exhibited, and he was scheduled to present his research on a gene that he subcloned from the genomic DNA of the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, provided by the California Institute of Technology. Nguyen has been awarded one of the exceptionally competitive Museum of Fine Arts Houston summer internships. |
In the Pursuit of Meaningful Relationships
 Under the guidance of Fr. Anthony Giampietro, CSB, the 2005-2006 Honors Class presented at this year’s Research Symposium, “Intimate Union: the Ethics and Politics of Marriage.” The project included the collaboration of 10 students
Abstract: “Marriage: why does it matter? Sex: what is it for, and why does it have so much power over us? Many of the problems in our society can be traced back to breakdowns in intimate relationships. Due to the widespread instability of such relationships, the traditional view of marriage is surrounded by pessimism and doubt, as evidenced by prenuptial agreements, no-fault divorces and wedding vows that shy away from a promise of permanence. Increasingly, individuals are choosing alternative relationships that deviate from traditional models. The question is: should one aim to achieve a lifelong relationship? If so, how does one attain such a relationship in a fulfilling manner, and how does the sexual drive fit into the picture? The presentation explored the progression of attitudes about marriage, the nature of relationships in regard to what individuals contribute to them, psychological reasons for sexual promiscuity, sex and marriage in relation to society and the transcendent, marriage preparation, fidelity, love and marital roles, all in an attempt to support the institution of marriage as the model for fruitful intimate relationships.” |
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