“At LAS, you stop being a student and become a professional.”Morgan Horell '17
Classes may be cancelled for Liberal Arts Symposium (LAS), but for the one-third of Juniata students who participate, LAS is anything but relaxing. Students spend hundreds of hours researching, preparing final projects, and practicing their presentations before showcasing their work to the College community. The exhilarating experience of sharing their research enables participants and spectators alike to see the advantages of a liberal arts education.
Explore LAS from a student's perspective in the following four research projects:
-
A creative finds her place.
Morgan Horell ’17 utilizes a research project to see if she can adopt any organization's style.
-
The sky's the limit.
By connecting seemingly unrelated subjects with a single thread, Ryan Mull ’17 highlights the interdisciplinary possibilities of research at Juniata.
-
Finding his roots.
Andrew Burlingame ’17 researches human behavior to explore his birthplace in greater depth.
-
See what shakes out.
Annaleigh Baremore ’19, Kendra Bierman ’19, and Max Ferlauto ’19 team up and look to the trees to see what effects they have on specific bird populations.
Analyze This Video
When companies share content with the world, each one uses a unique approach. But why? This is a question that Morgan Horell ’17, who studied multimedia arts production and marketing, explored for her senior thesis project. As a videographer, she wanted to understand why companies make the stylistic choices they do so she can someday replicate an organization’s style when she is producing video content.
“I’m a creative person and have many skills, but can I fit into what companies do?” Morgan asked herself.
Learn about Morgan's research here.Airplanes and Economics
Ryan Mull '17 is from Fairfax, Virginia, and studies political economy. Participation in LAS is not only a Juniata tradition, but a personal one as well. This was his third year at LAS. Mull looked at something that has fascinated him since he was a toddler: commercial airlines. He examined the political and economic impact of international commercial aviation companies entering the U.S. market. No small feat.
“Juniata really emphasizes that things don't exist in a vacuum,” says Mull, “I connected politics with economics with airplanes.”
Learn about Ryan's research here.Roots of Conservatism
The humanities look at how people understand human experience and its impact on culture. And, social science students, such as Andrew Burlingame '17, focus on how human beings think and behave.
Burlingame studies history and politics at Juniata, and is working on his senior thesis paper, "The Roots and Effects of Conservatism in Central Pennsylvania."
Andrew was one of the first students to present his work on the big day. At 10:15 a.m. in Founders Hall, students and faculty poured into a crowded classroom that was standing-room only when Burlingame began.
Learn about Andrew's research here.Bugged About Native Species
Students participating in LAS may also choose to work with partners. That's exactly what Annaleigh Baremore '19 of Silver Spring, Maryland, Kendra Bierman '19 of York, Pennsylvania, and Max Ferlauto '19 of Arlington, Virginia did. The trio of environmental science students did their LAS project on how native and non-native tree species affect insect species that are food sources for birds in a specific area.
The group worked with their faculty sponsor, biologist Norris Muth, to organize the content. “There is no real difference between LAS and when graduate students and even professors present at professional conferences,” explains Muth.
Click here to see their story.
