UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – More than 50 students in the College of Health and Human Development will present their undergraduate research at upcoming poster forums.
The departments of Kinesiology and Nutritional Sciences will host a poster forum 5-7 p.m. April 15 at the Bennett Pierce Living Center, 110 Henderson Building.
The forum will include presentations by 41 undergraduates from both departments.
Each student will present a poster based on information learned while attending the American College of Sports Medicine Health and Fitness Summit, which was held earlier this month in Phoenix, Arizona. The posters will focus on subjects including: sports medicine; nutrition; mind and body; personal training; business management; special populations; exercise program design; strategies for behavioral change; and worksite health promotion.
“This poster forum provides an engaged learning opportunity not only for our students that craft and present their extracted findings, but it facilitates enrichment to those students that that did not attend this nationally recognized meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine Health and Fitness Summit,” said Lori A. Gravish Hurtack, internship coordinator and instructor of kinesiology. “Students that attend this event will expect to learn scientific knowledge, skills and effective communication strategies through peer to peer learning. This is truly a unique opportunity for our students in kinesiology and nutritional sciences to have engaged scholarship opportunities outside of the traditional classroom setting.”
Shawnee Kelly, instructor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, said the poster forum is an important collaborative event between both departments. Many nutritional sciences students are also interested in health and wellness, health promotion, exercise and sports nutrition.
“Having our students attend a professional conference such as this and present on research in a poster forum is a unique opportunity for engaged scholarship,” Kelly said. “We encourage students to have these types of experiences to enhance learning on important topics, generate excitement about new research and prepare them professionally for future careers in nutrition and dietetics.”
Separately, the Health and Human Development Alumni Society will host a research poster competition in conjunction with its spring alumni society board meeting. It will take place at 6 p.m. April 25 at the Nittany Lion Inn. Posters will be based on students’ own research collaborations with a faculty member. Ten to 12 posters will be presented by students in the College of Health and Human Development and the College of Nursing.
“I think the event is important because it highlights the collaborative work of our students and faculty,” said Dennis Shea, associate dean for undergraduate studies and outreach in the colleges of Health and Human Development and Nursing. “Our students are inspired by the way faculty research is improving health and quality of life and making health care, hospitality, and recreation and tourism organizations more efficient, more financially successful and better able to serve their patients, customers and clients. Energized by that passion, students dive into ambitious research projects on their own, enhancing their learning by direct, hands-on experience with real research.”
These student participants will be much better prepared for graduate school and for employment, Shea said.
“Organizations in these fields are looking for creative, critical thinkers, and that is exactly what research develops,” he said
Monetary prizes will be awarded to the top entries in the Health and Human Development Alumni Society Research Poster Competition.
The April 15 poster forum is open to the public.