Joseph Wnuk Presents at 2017 CREATE Conference

2017 May 2

The Third Annual CREATE Conference at Eastern Connecticut State University took place on April 21. CREATE stands for "Celebrating Research Excellence and Artistic Talent at Eastern," and is the University's premier conference showcasing student research and creative activity.

Joseph Wnuk '18 of Bolton presented a poster titled "Understanding the Relationship Between Primary Language Use & Parental Involvement in Middle School." Wnuk majors in Social Work.

"My group and I examined a potential relationship between a parent's language status (English speaker or Spanish speaker) and their involvement in their child's education," said Wnuk. "We looked specifically at the families of middle school children and collected 77 samples from middle schools in the Hartford and New London areas."

The one-day conference featured more than 300 Eastern undergraduates who presented talks, professional posters, live music, dance performances, art and photography exhibits, documentary films and panel discussions.

"This conference is a valuable opportunity because not only do I get to show off the hard work my group and I have put in over this past academic year, I get to learn more about the research process by seeing what other students have done," said Wnuk. "This allows me to grow as a student researcher. Additionally, this conference can be used as a networking opportunity where I can meet other students and staff members with similar research interests."

"CREATE is a reaffirmation of Eastern's commitment to undergraduate research as Connecticut's only public liberal arts university," said Niti Pandey, business administration professor and conference co-chair. Reflecting on this year's record number of participants, she added, "There is a wonderful variety of presentations and performances for people to see. CREATE 2017 showcases the hard work and talent of our students and demonstrates the dedication of their faculty mentors. We look forward to an excellent event!"

From art to zoology, Shakespeare to social media, tax law to terrorism, Eastern students of all majors explore important concepts and produce exemplary research and creative work; the culmination of their work for the 2016-17 academic year was on display at CREATE.

Patricia Szczys, biology professor and conference co-chair, added: "CREATE is a superb learning experience for all who participate and a true celebration of our student's achievements."