Skylar Finch 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.

Skylar Finch, a sophomore arts management major from Polk City , was one of the students who participated. Finch's presentation was titled "Designing and implementing activities for national Brain Awareness Week," and the project's abstract is as follows:

Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is a national event that takes place every year in March. The purpose of BAW is to educate people of all ages about the wonders of the brain. The activities for BAW throughout the country range from experiencing neuroscience labs, visiting brain exhibitions, lectures, and classroom workshops. The Honors Life Science course participated in BAW this year. A poster and an interactive activity were created based on a topic of interest. BV students traveled to Storm Lake Middle School to present to over 200 6th graders. One objective of this activity was to get kids excited about science, and the involvement from the students at the middle school was a sign that the goal was achieved. A second objective was to practice taking a complex topic and learn how to teach it at an age appropriate level. Honors course students learned about their topic prior to the activity, but after presenting several times they learned how to explain the material in a way that was fun and educational. Brain Awareness Week served its purpose of educating the students about the complexity of the brain, but most importantly it planted a seed of curiosity to learn more about the brain.

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."