Eastern Connecticut State University sent students from a broad range of disciplines to present at this year’s Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) Northeast Regional Conference on Oct. 25 and 26 at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA. Fifteen students from nine academic departments represented Eastern at the conference.

“Our students presented with poise and personality, engaging their audiences and showing off the wealth of opportunities Eastern provides for students to find their scholarly voices,” said English Professor Allison Speicher, who served as faculty chaperone.

Computer science major Gabriel Arevalo presented his project, titled “Evaluating Convolutional Neural Networks for Image Classification: A Study Using NASA Mars Data.” The project was funded by NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and conceived by Professors Kehan Gao and Sarah Tasneem of computer science.

“I wanted to do this topic because of artificial intelligence (AI),” said Arevalo. “AI has become such a huge topic in recent years that I wanted to learn more about it. ... I was more than happy to take the opportunity to learn about a different method of AI, image classification.”

English major Margaret Rousseau examined the novel “Anne of Green Gables” by L.M. Montgomery, specifically its use and depiction of Canada as the novel’s setting and the ways it portrays Canadian identity.

Rousseau drew upon prior scholarship on “Anne of Green Gables” and carved her own path by cross-examining it with research on Canadian history identity, as well as studying “Anne with an E,” a recent television series that reimagines the novel.

“Another tricky thing for this particular presentation has been condensing my drafted paper into something coherent and succinct enough for a 12-minute presentation, especially a presentation that would read well at an inter-disciplinary conference,” said Rousseau.

COPLAC was Rousseau’s first time presenting at a conference outside Eastern, and she prepared by allowing peers to review her work. “Asking for a second set of eyes, especially from people who don't know your project well, is always a good idea in my opinion, as is editing your presentation and recording yourself practicing,” she said.

Health sciences major Brianna Feliz conceived her project, “Bridging the Gap: A Community-Centric Approach to Cancer Screening in West Hartford – Bloomfield,” from an event in her personal life.

“My inspiration stemmed from a close family friend being diagnosed with breast cancer,” she said. “With this concern in mind, I reviewed the 2022 Bloomfield-West Hartford Community Health Assessment.

“(More than 50%) of Bloomfield residents and 37.4% of West Hartford residents had not been screened for any form of cancer by the time the survey was completed,” said Feliz. “I realized that action was necessary to address this pressing issue.”

After completing her research, Feliz engaged with local community organizations such as AccessCT and Hartford HealthCare (HHC) to provide the services in need. “I successfully secured a mobile unit offering free mammograms, as well as additional health services from HHC,” she said. The Bloomfield Community Center provided space for the event.

While Feliz enjoyed the beauty of North Adams, she took more inspiration from the drive to the conference. “The drive up, winding through backroads, allowed us to see a variety of farms and wildlife, making for a relaxing journey that helped us destress before the conference,” she said.

Biology major Anne Le presented a genetics-focused project, titled “Characterization of mutants defective in symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) in the model legume plant Medicago truncatula.” Though not recognizable to most, SNF is a key process related to sustainable food sourcing.

“If we were able to discover the genes that control this process and implement these genes into non-legume plants such as wheat, rice, corn,” said Le, “this would in turn reduce the use of synthetic fertilizers which would also reduce fertilizer run-offs, save millions in commercial fertilizer and reduce environmental harm.”

Now a senior, Le has been researching with Professor Vijay Veerappan since her sophomore year. “Before conducting research with Dr. Veerappan, I did not know that plants could be grown without soil,” she said.

“The results were amazing. Dr. Veerappan told me he had never seen a mutant with a phenotype that displayed cell death, so we were both excited.”

Le relished the challenge of presenting a jargon-heavy topic to mostly non-STEM majors. “To me, true intelligence is when one can explain a complex topic without making the audience feel dumb,” she said.

Nina Grim’s project, a self-portrait, drew inspiration from a work of her favorite painter, Frida Kahlo, titled “Me and my Parrots.” “I chose to replace the parrots with something that was important to me and reflected who I was as a person, which is why I decided to paint me with pieces from my ‘haunted’ antiques collection,” she said.

“My parents were antique collectors/sellers, and the lifestyle became a big part of what I was interested in and what I modeled my life after. There is a lot of beauty found in the discarded treasures that people once loved.”

Grim viewed the conference as a valuable opportunity to get out of her comfort zone. “I usually label myself as a mild recluse, so the thought of presenting my painting to others, and even the trip in general, was very anxiety-inducing to say the least,” she said.

Grim raved about the location of the conference. “Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is a beautiful institution with very well-adapt and passionate students,” she said. “Located in the center of a ring of breathtaking mountains, the town seems like the perfect muse and it really was an honor standing beside all of the talented and intellectual people I met there.”