Lindsey Graham
  • corporate communication and business-marketing concentration
  • Class of 2017
  • Swisher, IA

Lindsey Graham Participated in Buena Vista University's Eleventh Annual Scholars Day

2015 May 22

Buena Vista University's eleventh annual Scholars Day was held Friday, April 24. 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 43 presentations from 86 students, exploring topics from art and business to science and history.

Lindsey Graham, a junior business-concentration in marketing and corporate communication major from Swisher, was one of the students who participated. Graham's presentation was titled Buena Vista (Good View) Through the Eyes of Buena Vista University: Expanding Global Perspective Through the Use of Ecotourism , and the project's abstract is as follows:

The 2015 Global Fellows engaged the text Ecotourism with a Hand-Lens and embraced this metaphor throughout the duration of their experience in Chile by utilizing the following hand lenses. The economic and ethical hand lenses were used to study the invasive species of southern Chile such as the Canadian beaver and Eucalyptus trees. Through the use of these two hand lenses, connections were made between the impacts of invasive species in both Chile and Storm Lake. The aesthetic hand lens was used to compare art to its culture. This lens stimulates emotional responses between the observer and an object. By using the aesthetic hand lens to view culture’s impact on art, an observer can decipher the meaning and appreciate the art fully. The biocultural hand lens was utilized to better understand that the names given to species throughout the world involve not only the biology of the organism but also the culture surrounding the namer of the organism. By intentionally taking time to have faceto-face encounters with a variety of organisms through the use of ecotourism with a hand-lens, the 2015 Global Fellows attained a deeper appreciation of the interconnectedness of species within an ecosystem and increased their global awareness.

The keynote speaker for the event was Jeff Anderson, Class of 2003, who is the executive director of communications for the Minnesota Vikings. Anderson is entering his thirteenth season with the Vikings and plays a lead role in the organization's external and strategic communications.

"For some Scholars Day is the culmination of their work at BVU, and for others it becomes the springboard that sends them into a field they had not previously anticipated," said Dr. Steven Mills, assistant professor of Spanish and chair of the events committee who organized the event. "Either way, those who participate find in it a valuable growing experience and a strong sense of accomplishment."

Photos from this year's and previous Scholars Day events, along with a video from this year's event, are available online at www.bvu.edu/scholarsday.