Skip navigation

UCO College of Liberal Arts Student Symposium

Liberal Arts News and Events

 

student at podium

Celebrating Student Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity

 

UCO Liberal Arts Student Symposium 2025: Lighting the Future
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
at the UCO College of Liberal Arts Building

The University of Central Oklahoma’s College of Liberal Arts hosts the annual Student Symposium, which offers students the opportunity to present their exemplary writing and research and to participate in other academic and creative activities. Classes in the College of Liberal Arts are redirected during the event to allow students to participate and to give classmates the chance to experience the scholarly and creative work of their fellow students. This long-standing tradition is one of the most important and visible celebrations of the creativity and scholarship of our students.

This year our CLA Symposium considers possibilities for clarity as we connect today to tomorrow. Our scholarly research and creative activities illuminate the way ahead and inspire each step we take. What insights can we gain from these endeavors that will sustain us in hopeful or challenging times? We celebrate the next generation – our students – sharing their light as they lead us into the future.

 

Types of Submissions and Presentations

Individual submissions are usually 15 minutes and organized into groups of three for a 50-minute “panel” with a faculty moderator. A group of students may also submit a whole panel proposal.

There are five categories for individuals to share their research:

Paper

In a paper presentation, the student presenter reads a pre-written academic paper out loud.

Presentation

Talking about research or creative work with a visual aid (usually a slideshow).

Roundtable Discussion

In a roundtable discussion, two or more students discuss their research or creative work in conversation. Roundtable discussions are 50 minutes long.

Poster or Object

In a poster or object presentation, a physical object that presents research or creative work with text or visual communication is displayed in the Liberal Arts Building during the symposium day. The student is responsible for setting up and taking down their display but does not have to be present beside it for the whole day.

Video

In a video presentation, a pre-recorded video is played during a time slot. Usually, the creator is present for a question-and-answer portion after the video. This medium is often used for creative submissions.

 

 

Edurne Pineda

Keynote Speaker

Edurne Pineda is the Consul of Mexico in Oklahoma City with a 25-year career and a specialization in consular affairs. Her academic background includes a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in diplomatic studies. She has been appointed before to the consulates general of Mexico in Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas, where she coordinated every area of the consular spectrum and was deputy consul general for 10 years.

In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Consul Pineda has worked in directive roles as: director of economic and community affairs and deputy general director for consular services.

In Oct. of 2022 Consul Pineda was appointed by the government of Mexico as head consul of the Consulate of Mexico in Oklahoma City. On Dec. 1, 2022, Consul Pineda officially began her post. Since then she dedicated her work and efforts to establish the new Consulate of Mexico in Oklahoma City which opened its doors for services on May 20, 2023.

The Consulate of Mexico in Oklahoma City is consular representation of Mexico in the USA number 52 out of a network of 53. It covers the entire state of Oklahoma, providing consular services and assistance to the growing Mexican community in the State (400 k +), and promoting government, economic, social, cultural and tourism relations between Mexico and Oklahoma.

 

Symposium Awards Winners 2025

Be the Light Award

  • Avril Martin, “Through Every Coil She Speaks”
  • Eric Young, “Little One”

Best Paper

  • First Place: Daniel Hanuschak, “Shades of Respect: Gilgamesh, Mukokuseki, and the Importing of American Racism to Japan”
  • Runners Up: Katy Croft, “Movies About Men: the Manic Pixie Dream Girl”
  • Runner Up: Savannah Yvonne Detert and Sierra Bratcher, “Beyond Friendship: Nana, Queer Subtext, and LGBTQIA+ Identity in Japan”

Best Presentation

  • First Place: Emily Martinez, “Aprons, Power, and Privilege: The Hidden Layers of the Trad Wife Trend”
  • Runner Up: Ivy Archer, “King in a Room of Queens: Reflecting on Male Impersonation and its Growth into Drag King Stardom”

Best Creative Work

  • First Place: Bryn Danner, “A letter to my grandmothers”
  • Runner Up: Quynh Nguyen, “I Want to See a Sky So Violent”

Best Paper in English by a Non-native Speaker

  • Mantrana Upadhyay, “Help! Can I get a hand? Or a spoon?”

Graduate: Best Paper

  • Julianne Ford, “Reevaluating the Eco-Indian Stereotype: A Postmodern Ecocritical Reading of Silko’s Ceremony”

Graduate: Best Presentation

  • Guthrie Crull, “President Trump and his Foreign Policy”

Best Photograph

  • Tiantian Li (marketing image)

Additional finalists selected for publication in a special issue of the Journal 1890

  • Angel Abraham, “Bonhoeffer, Maverick Theologian”
  • Estela Castillo Melia, “Catalan, the Endangered Language”
  • Aurora Elledge, “Between the Lines: The Literary Function of Queercoding”
  • Abraham England, “Is AI Conflicting with Creativity? (LEGO Caught Using AI Generated Content)”
  • Nathan Gomes, “Ethical Dilemmas in How Social Media Fosters Hate and Violence”
  • Elissa Marks, “Sappho is Dead: On the Permanent Loss of Context and Content“
  • Brandon Westfall, “Astarion’s Body: A Playground for the Un-Queer”

Past Symposiums Programs