A team of Saints took part in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) to present papers and posters on their work.
NCUR was held April 6-9 at the University of Pittsburgh, and all six students are with either the Bonner Service Leaders or Nonprofit Excellence and Transformation (NExT) programs through Siena’s Center for Academic Community Engagement: Marina Barsoum ‘25, Grace Caton ‘25, Asavari Gowda ’25, Kelyse Mallory ’25, Anum Tehseen ’25, and Aleksandra Wojtowycz ’25.
They were accompanied by ACE assistant directors Mairead Carr and Josh Anthony, as well as Dan White Ph.D., assistant professor of health studies.
The annual conference, sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research, is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity in all fields of study. Student scholars from all disciplines are invited.
“We believe our students are doing great work, and their projects for ACE demonstrate a high level of academic rigor,” said Carr. “NCUR is an excellent opportunity both professionally and academically, and it is unusual for a school Siena’s size to have this many students qualify to present.”
Barsoum, a sociology major with a minor in healthcare management, presented a poster on her senior capstone project about social engagement and health through the lens of storytelling. She worked with older adults at the Quinn Apartments through the Watervliet Housing Authority.
“I interviewed them to hear their stories about their connections in Watervliet while also looking at how loneliness and social isolation can affect older adults both mentally and physically,” said Barsoum.
Her goal is to connect the seniors to food banks, implement wellness programs through senior fairs, and have more support systems in place so the older adults stay strongly connected to their community while receive the support they need.
“Many of them grew up in Watervliet, so we wanted them to feel appreciated as well!” she said.
Barsoum said her favorite parts of the conference were connecting to people and learning about their research, learning and understanding different cultures and projects done in different states, and seeing the impact many students have made for their schools and community.
“My family is from Egypt, so when I got to connect with students from the University of Cairo and learn about my culture and hear how they do their research, as well as how they want to help their communities, it was honestly just a really great experience,” she said. “Just walking around seeing the different posters and presentations, it really helps you learn and understand more about people's passions and what they really want to do to make an impact!”
Wojtowycz and Caton jointly presented a poster on “Assessing Community Needs Through a Community Engaged Lens,” which reported on the process and results of the needs assessment they conducted in partnership with the Rotterdam Community Center.
“My favorite part of the conference was getting to present on the community engaged research that I worked on for an entire semester with one of my classmates, and to see all of the research completed by other students from other universities and colleges,” said Wojtowycz
Kelyse Mallory ’25 presented her work on a survey development project with the Schenectady County Food Council.
“It was great seeing all of the students and their research on such a wide variety of topics,” she said. “It was also fun connecting with everyone on LinkedIn!”
