Bemidji State University’s 14th Annual Student Scholarship and Creative Achievement Conference will showcase the varied works of nearly 200 students during presentations, performances, exhibits and poster sessions on Wednesday, April 10.
The conference begins with an 8 a.m. continental breakfast in room 100 of Memorial Hall, leading into an 8:30 a.m. opening ceremony featuring a keynote address by Bemidji State alum Jason Edens, founding director of the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance.
Edens is a MN Building Contractor and a NABCEP Certified Solar heating installer. He has a master’s degree in environmental studies from Bemidji State.
About Rural Renewable Energy Alliance
Spawned at Bemidji State University, the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance is dedicated to making solar energy accessible to people of all income levels. Since 2000, the alliance has been delivering solar heat and solar electricity to the residential and commercial market. Unique among the nonprofit community, RREAL is a solar thermal manufacturer and a pioneer in the delivery of solar heat to low-income families on energy assistance as a lasting solution to fuel poverty.
Conference Schedule
Following the address, student presentations and performances will be held from 10:30-11:50 a.m. and 1-2:20 p.m. in Bridgeman and Hagg-Sauer halls. These will see more than 80 students make more than 50 presentations on a vast array of topics, including a study on whether money correlates with happiness; a review of the methods used to estimate tiger populations; violence in youth hockey; how North Dakota’s oil boom has affected the state’s politics; and a study examining whether a minor-league baseball team’s major-league affiliation has an impact on attendance.
Poster sessions, which give students the opportunity to explain their work in a display setting, will be held in Bridgeman Hall rooms 100 and 140 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Students will be at their posters from 11:55 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. A total of 128 poster presentations will represent the work of 286 students on a diversity of topics including the effect of Facebook on self esteem; minimizing traffic problems in the Twin Cities; green space and life expectancy in U.S. cities; pancreatic cancer; food insecurity and human papillomavirus.
The conference will also include a mock trial by the BSU Pre-Law Society from 12:30-2:30 p.m. in Hagg-Sauer 100. This year’s mock trial features Andy Allen, as the surviving spouse of Lee Allen, vs Neptune Underwater Expeditions. Andy Allen will be suing Neptune Underwater Expeditions for recklessness in the operation of their business following the death of his wife, Lee, during a recreational dive to an underwater shipwreck.
All parts of the Student Scholarship and Creative Achievement Conference are open to the public at no charge.
The day’s activities also include an invitation-only presentation, “Keys to Success for Sophomore Students” beginning at 11:30 a.m. Sophomores will receive a token symbolizing academic achievements and continued success at BSU, and is intended to honor student persistence and support a continued move toward graduation.
More information on the conference is available by contacting the Academic Affairs Office, located in Deputy Hall on the Bemidji State University campus, at (218) 755-2015.
LINKS
• conference website