Photo: Maria Henson ('82)
At URECA Day, senior Una Wilson shares her findings about "How Fungi Can Inspire Social Change," which she researched with her mentor, Associate Professor of Communication Alessandra Von Burg (P '14).
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Celebrate mentoring
When I speak with alumni, I find they easily name their favorite professor or staff member. Their reasons? Quality of teaching, the way a class made them see the world differently and the care they felt.
I saw the beauty of such answers in the making for future alumni last week at the Sutton Center. Here were undergraduate students standing proudly beside their posters describing academic and creative work. Not to be missed on the posters were the names of faculty and staff mentors.
It was URECA Day, sponsored annually by the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Center and a happy stop for parents in town for Family Weekend. I wandered through the crowd and chatted with students. Here was junior Jiale “Jack” Zhu, who studied the complex emotions Chinese immigrants expressed in poems carved on the wall of Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay. Here were seniors Monica Soni and Jasmine Marshall. They researched questions relayed on their poster, “College Experiences and Crises of 2020 and Beyond.” Soni is hooked and wants to do research in her medical practice someday. Marshall wants to be a counselor and says she now has a better understanding of research findings.
In Reynolda Hall, administrators refer to URECA Day as one of the best days of the year. After a stroll through the Sutton Center, who would argue?
Go Deacs!
Maria Henson (’82)
Associate Vice President and Editor-at-Large
magazine.wfu.edu
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