The school awarded cash prizes for winning projects to students and faculty members who participated in the second-annual school-wide event. At the School of Humanities and Social Sciences’ second annual HSS Student Expo, more than 20 students received cash awards between $200 and $1,000 while the Wolfe Institute for the Humanities presented cash prizes to professors who guided the winning students. There were 10 award categories, including best research project, best use of technology, best collaborative project, best social justice project, best poster project, and best club project. The award for outstanding research paper was given to Kinga Szlachcic, a student who worked with History Professor Jocelyn Wills. Szlachcic presented a paper entitled “Family in the American Imagination.” The Best Graduate Project award went to Nick Philpott, who worked with Professor Akiko Fuse from the Department of Communication Arts, Sciences, and Disorders. Philpott presented “Social & Behavioral Relationship Quality Among Adolescent & Adult Siblings with Autism: A Systemic Review,” which critiqued the existing secondary research and pointed to new directions for research in the field. The winners of the Best Use of Technology category comprised a group of students who designed and launched a podcast dealing with current issues facing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. “The many excellent student presentations demonstrated that the mission of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences to promote critical thinking and intellectual creativity is in full effect,” said Dean Kenneth A. Gould. The hybrid virtual/in-person expo featured more than a dozen events over two days that showcased the work of more than 50 students. Judges for the awards included Gould, Wolfe Institute Director Rosamond King, Dean’s Faculty Associate Lynda Day, HSS Administrative Executive Coordinator Jennifer Matisi, and student Karly Zerbe.
