EK
Elizabeth Kim
  • Biology
  • Class of 2017
  • Fairmont, MN

Elizabeth Kim Participates in Buena Vista University's Twelfth Annual Scholars Day

2016 May 6

Buena Vista University's (BVU) twelfth annual Scholars Day was held Friday, April 22. The event provided students from all disciplines an opportunity to present their best presentations, original research, academic posters, artistic creations and performances to their peers, professors and the public.

This year's Scholars Day event featured 38 presentations from 66 students, exploring topics from literature and business to science and history.

Elizabeth Kim , a senior biology and Spanish major from Fairmont, Minn., was one of the students who participated. Kim 's presentation was titled El sentimiento tragico de las celulas (The Tragic Sense of Cells), and the project's abstract is as follows:

Miguel de Unamuno, one of the most influential writers and philosophers of the twentieth century, struggled with metaphysical questions such as the Spanish identity, the existence of God, and life after death. In works like "My Religion" and "The Tragic Sense of Life", we ??see that Unamuno could not resolve these questions nor reason nor faith. During this time, Santiago Ramon y Cajal, one of the most influential scientists in Spain was studying neuronal cells and neuronal defined doctrine. While these two men have different interests and philosophies, you can combine the work of a philosopher and biologist to interpret the significance of the human impulse towards intellectual progress. Comparing Unamuno's literature to telomeres, the ends of the cells that are a important in the system replication and cell division factor, shows that although Unamuno struggled with unanswerable questions, there is still hope in his endless search for continued intellectual growth.

The keynote speaker for the event was Grant Gerlock, BVU Class of 2004, who is a Harvest Public Media reporter at NET News. Gerlock is recognized as a great storyteller and has visited coal plants, dairy farms, horse tracks and hospitals to cover a variety of stories.

"The students put so much into their research-time, effort, resources-that it becomes a part of them," said Dr. Steven Mills, assistant professor of Spanish and chair of the events committee who organized the event. "As they give their presentations and share their knowledge with the audience, their countenance brightens, their confidence rises and their eyes light up. What has become a part of their identity flows out with energy and enthusiasm; they feel like they have truly succeeded, and this success can be valuable to others, as well. I have seen every student walk away with a firmer step and a deeper desire to turn his or her academic work into something more."

A photo gallery from the Scholars Day event is available at www.bvu.edu/scholarsday.