Campus Notes - Farmington College Students

FARMINGTON, CT — Here are some recent notable achievements for college students from Farmington, as reported by readMedia Newswire.

Becker College, Worcester MA

• Jared Lomangino, of Farmington, was inducted into the Alpha Lambda Delta honor society at Becker College. Lomangino is pursuing a degree in Interactive Media Design-Game Development and Programming. Alpha Lambda Delta is a national honor society that honors academic excellence during a student's first year in college. Once a member of this prestigious honor society, the student will have the opportunity to build positive relationships with peers and faculty, give back to the community through volunteerism and service, and have access to numerous scholarship opportunities.

Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic CT

• A record number 23 students from Eastern Connecticut State University presented at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in Memphis, TN, this April. Three students had two presentations, bringing the total number of presentations from Eastern to 26. Among the presenters was Christina Welch of Farmington who majors in Biology. Welch's poster presentation was titled "The Long Road To Recovery: How Can We Coax The Brain To Self-Repair?" and was conducted alongside faculty mentor biology professor Barbara Murdoch.
• A group of Eastern Connecticut State University students was inducted into Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE), the national honor society for the computing and information disciplines, this April. At its 2017 ceremony, Eastern inducted 21 students who major in computer science and business information systems. Among the inductees was Michael Underwood of Farmington, who majors in Mathematics and Computer Science. The mission of UPE is to recognize academic excellence at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in the computing and information disciplines. UPE is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS). UPE was first organized at Texas A&M University in 1967. The international organization now consists of chapters in various colleges and universities in North America and overseas. UPE is the first and only international honor society in the computing and information disciplines.
• Eastern Connecticut State University's recently inducted a number of students into its Eta Omega chapter of the Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society. The event recognizes students who major in biology and who have demonstrated excellence in scholarship, research and other academic pursuits.
  Christina Welch of Farmington was one of the inductees. The Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society was founded in 1922 and today has more than 175,000 lifetime members in more than 430 chapters throughout the United States. The Eta Omega Chapter at Eastern was founded in 1997.
• Eastern Connecticut State University's Biology Department recently bestowed awards upon students who achieved excellence in academic excellence, research and as teaching assistants. Christina Welch of Farmington was one of the awardees. Welch was awarded the Barry and Ella May Wulff Prize for Outstanding Biologist/Outstanding Senior Scholar and Role Model.
• Fifteen high-achieving psychology students from Eastern Connecticut State University were awarded Departmental Honors on April 24 at the Psychology Honors Night and Psi Chi Induction Ceremony. Thirteen more students were awarded High Distinction and two others with the award of Highest Distinction. Olivia Palen of Farmington was one of the students awarded High Distinction Departmental Honors. The award was presented by Carlos Escoto, chair of the Psychology Department. Students awarded High Distinction must complete Statistics and Research Methods I courses with a grade of A- or higher, maintain a GPA of a 3.5 or higher within the Psychology major as well as an overall GPA of a 3.5 or higher, complete an independent study, teaching assistantship or research assistantship, and present a first-author/co-author research project at CSU Psychology Day.
• 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. 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.
  Participants from Farmington were Olivia Bednarek, who majors in Pre-Elementary Education and Visual Arts and presented artword titled "The Sea Voyager" and a poster titled "The Effects of Childhood Cancer on Children and Their Education"; Rachel Waters, who majors in Health Sciences and presented an oral presentation titled "Issues and Challenges with Palliative Care in Connecticut"; and Courtney Welch, who majors in Health Sciences and presented an oral presentation titled "Issues and Challenges with Palliative Care in Connecticut" and a poster titled "Recycling Behaviors of Fitness Center Attendees."
• Eastern Connecticut State University recently held its annual induction ceremony for Alpha Kappa Delta, the international sociology honor society. Andrea Slater of Farmington was one of the inductees. Slater's major is History and Sociology. The mission of Alpha Kappa Delta is to acknowledge and promote excellence in scholarship in the study of sociology, the research of social problems and other social and intellectual activities that lead to improvement in the human condition. Eligible students must hold a ranking of at least a junior, rank in the top 35 percent of their graduating class in general scholarship or must have accumulated the equivalent of an overall grade point average of at least 3.3. They also must have maintained the equivalent of a 3.0 GPA in sociology courses taken at the host institution prior to initiation.

Photo credits: Eastern Connecticut State University