Emily Kim
  • biology
  • Class of 2019
  • Fairmont, MN

Emily Kim Presents at Buena Vista University's Thirteenth Annual Scholars Day

2017 May 1

Buena Vista University's (BVU) thirteenth annual Scholars Day was held Saturday, April 29. The event provided students from all disciplines an opportunity to present their best original research, academic posters, artistic creations and performances to their peers, professors and the public.

This year's Scholars Day event featured 63 presentations from 120 students, exploring topics from literature and business to science and history.

Emily Kim, a junior biology major from Fairmont , was one of the students who participated. Kim's presentation was titled "Leaving a Lasting Legacy," and the project's abstract is as follows:

We often think about our own legacies, but rarely about those of the people who have come before us. The 2017 Global Fellows trip allowed us to experience the lives, traditions, and legacies of the Chilean people, and allowed us, in return, to build a better understanding of our own place within the global community. The research we conducted in Chile allowed us to gain better understanding of the lasting legacies of other peoples, as well as the effect our own legacies will have on future generations, which include our contributions to our university, community, culture, and environment. Topics we investigated involved the effects of previous indigenous tribes on the current culture, legacies left behind based on different "lenses," and the significance of names as a legacy. Every action we make today affects generations to come, whether positive or negative, and this experience allowed us to better our own lasting legacy.

The keynote speaker for the event was Adrienne B. Haynes, a 2010 BVU graduate, who is an attorney and business woman who specializes in helping entrepreneurs develop sustainable infrastructure and business practices. Haynes is the managing partner of SEED Law, a business law firm, and owner of SEED Collective, a consultancy. She is the founder of the nonprofit, the Construction Business Institute, and is active in both the Multicultural Business Coalition and Black Female Attorneys network. Haynes is also a member of the BVU National Alumni Association Board of Directors.

"This is a special event because it gives students' a real-life platform where they can showcase their success beyond exams and grades," said Dr. Steven Mills, assistant professor of Spanish and chair of the events committee who organized the event. "With a Scholars Day presentation, students take their hard work and form it into a new medium or method for discussion. They become experts on their topic and then stand in front of peers and become teachers about what they have done and how it adds to the greater corpus of knowledge in their field."

This year marked the first time Scholars Day and the annual Student Recognition Dinner - which was held later that evening - were combined.

"For the first time, those who presented as part of Scholars Day received an invitation to the dinner and were recognized alongside all the others receiving honors and awards for academic excellence," added Mills. "They deserved to be a part of the celebration of hard work and dedication."