College Achievements By Students From Glastonbury

GLASTONBURY, CT — Here are some recent notable accomplishments by local college students, as provided by readMedia Newswire.

Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic CT

• Displays of research and creativity dominated the Eastern Connecticut State University campus on April 12 for the annual CREATE conference. CREATE stands for "Celebrating Research Excellence and Artistic Talent at Eastern," and is the university's premier undergraduate conference. Among the conference participants were two Glastonbury students. Madison Flattery, who majors in Business Administration, presented "Bridging the Tacit Knowledge Gap: Insights for Knowledge Management in an Educator Preparation Program" and "Kaitaia Publishing Company: A Work System Method Analysis." Amanda Heffernan, who majors in Business Administration, presented "Analyzing College Student Motivations For Caffeinated Drinks Consumption." The day-long showcase featured more than 250 students from all majors who led oral and poster presentations, panel discussions, music and dance performances, art and photography exhibitions, new-media demonstrations and more.
• Forty-three students from Eastern Connecticut State University traveled to Georgia on April 11-13 to present original research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR). The 2019 conference occurred at Kennesaw State University and featured hundreds of undergraduate students from across the country. Among the presenters were Zoe Marien of Glastonbury, who majors in English and Political Science, and presented an oral presentation titled "Eating Disorders As Seen Through Pop Culture: Class Privilege And The Dangers Of Glamorization," and Shayne Sampognaro of Glastonbury, who majors in Biology and Mathematics, and presented an oral presentation titled "Identification Of A Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitor." Eastern students from a range of majors presented artwork, music performances and oral/poster presentations. Research questions probed topics such as the microbiome of scorpions, the link between casual sex and online dating, pop-culture glamorization of eating disorders, and much more.

Hamilton College, Clinton NY

• Hamilton College's Model United Nations (MUN) team attended three conferences during the spring 2019 semester and won awards at each. The team went to the North American Model United Nations Conference hosted by University of Toronto (NAMUN), the Princeton Diplomatic Invitational hosted by Princeton University (PDI), and MUN hosted by The College of William and Mary. Two Glastonbury residents are members of Hamilton's MUN team: Lindsey Foster, a junior majoring in creative writing and government, and a graduate of Glastonbury High School, and Zachary Mendelovici, a senior majoring in public policy, and a graduate of Kingswood-Oxford School. Mendelovici was the team's head delegate.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY

• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athlete Mark Shapiro of Glastonbury and University High School Of Science and Engineering has been recognized by the Liberty League for his efforts in track & field. Shapiro earned the Field Performer of the Week Award - his third of 2019 after two during the indoor season - by earning a win, a second and a third in the multi-divisional Capital District Classic at RPI. He won the shot put with a throw of 14.49 meters, defeating 21 others, including the runner-up from Division II Franklin Pierce University by .47 (14.02). The throw came on Shapiro's fourth attempt. He also finished second of 30 in the discus with a throw of 44.17 meters, trailing only a senior from the University at Albany (46.60), and he was third of 23 in the hammer at 46.86 meters. Rensselaer won the team trophy with 202 points, besting 12 other programs that scored points. In five outdoor meets this season, Shapiro, a mathematics major, has a win and two fifth place finishes in the shot put, a win and two second place finishes in the discus and three third place finishes in the hammer.