Students Present Research at MCC’s 11th Annual Honors Conference

Middlesex Community College hosted its eleventh annual Commonwealth Honors Program (CHP) Research Conference on Wednesday, April 20. The virtual event allowed Middlesex honors students to present their research on a topic of their choice.

“MCC’s honors program is another example of how the college fosters student success, providing learners with knowledge and experiences that will benefit them at their four-year institutions and in their careers,” said Binnur Ercem, MCC’s Professor of Sociology & Cultural Anthropology and Director of the CHP. “In addition to developing valuable research and presentation skills, the CHP’s annual research conference is an opportunity for our community to come together to celebrate our students' determination, perseverance, hard work and desire for learning."

An MCC Math Transfer student from Chelmsford, Thomas Kerkhove presented his research on Native American filmmakers in the late 20th century. He created his poster for his final project in MCC’s U.S. History through Film course, discussing “how Native Americans are slowly beginning to move past their cinematic misrepresentation in Hollywood on their own terms.”

“One of the key aspects of the conference that I struggled with initially is how to condense all of my hard work into a short description for the judges,” Kerkhove said. “I have had to spend some time really figuring out how to convey the key ideas of my project – a skill that I know will be important for the future.”

For their presentation, honors students created digital posters and then spoke over Zoom, talking about their work and answering questions. Due to the nature of the virtual conference, students can share their work for a longer period of time, including having a chat function that allows visitors to ask questions and students to respond.

Kerkhove joined the CHP in order to hone his presentation skills and participate in seminar-style courses. He believes the best parts about MCC’s honors program have been being able to work with more challenging subject material, engaging in conversations with classmates, and feeling as though he is in a cohort of honors students.

Interactions with classmates and his professors ­– including Stephanie Pesce, Jennifer Bauer, Deborah Botker and Ercem – have also been a benefit of MCC’s CHP for Kerkhove. The experience has worked to “broaden my horizons with courses I might not have taken otherwise if they weren’t part of the Honors selection. He plans to transfer to the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the Fall.

“I find these experiences valuable because they provided an opportunity for me to practice my presentation skills in a low-stakes environment,” he said, “building confidence for my future college experience, as well as the presentations in my future STEM career.”