By: Madelynn Lockwood, Features Editor
Ignatian Scholarship Day (ISD) has again come and passed for the 2023-2024 academic year, highlighting the best of the Undergraduate Student population’s work; including research, artwork, musical performances and presentations. ISD continues to stand as an opportunity to showcase their dedication to their respective field of study, and a chance for other students to actively engage in their peers’ work. I had the pleasure of being both an Ignatian Scholar and a spectator to the work of my peers this year. I had the opportunity to speak with and be at some presentations that I considered standouts, and my own personal favorites.
Courtney Lyons, a junior studying English and political science, researched Reverend George W. Lee, and his legacy as a civil rights martyr. She said “In my ISD presentation, I had the honor of presenting my research with Dr. Bruce Dierenfield. [About] martyred civil rights leader Reverend George W. Lee. My presentation demonstrated how in order to understand [the] ‘nature’ of George Lee — namely, his voting rights advocacy and leadership — his ‘nurture:’ Belzoni, Mississippi. By studying the political climate, public opinion and contemporaries in that Delta town, I have conceptualized the circumstances that compelled George Lee to fight for civil rights at the expense of his life.”
While many ISD projects focus on research, other types of projects were also celebrated. Analee DeGlopper and Tyler Barczykowski hosted a Model UN conference for roughly 450 high school students at Canisius. DeGlopper said “I created four of the eight topic guidelines written alongside my fellow CEEP recipient Tyler [Barczykowski]...My four topics focused on Iraq, specifically in 2003, ensuring the safety of refugees and asylum seekers, promoting sustainable food development in Africa, and the impacts climate change has on international security. Students utilized these guidelines to focus their individual research as they represented a specific state within the four committees.”
As a group presentation of their experience in Southern Italy, Tom Wolf’s FAS 142 class curated roughly twenty outstanding works of art, all hung in the Alumni Gallery standing between the library and Old Main. These photos aim to represent the unique culture, appearance and feeling of the south of Italy. This exhibit is dedicated to their late classmate, Josh Betts.
While these are only a few of the many projects that were presented and shown, they represent the strive for scholastic excellence rooted in our university’s foundation. Congratulations to this year’s scholars and CEEP award recipients.