West Liberty University undergraduate and graduate students who entered their research, creative and performance works into the annual Research Creative Activity and Performance (RECAP) competition attending an awards ceremony on April 20, 2022, in College Hall where the winners were announced.

Awards were presented to the highest scoring participants. In total, 26 WLU students, both graduate and undergraduate, competed in the RECAP symposium this spring. Students were able to showcase their best work to win wop prizes. Some prizes included a set of Skullcandy noise-canceling headphones and an anker charging dock. Award winners, categories and titles of research include:

Best Presenter Awards
Winner: Erin Allison “Evaluating Human Attitudes of Rattlesnakes with Two Conservation Messages”
Runner Up: Kaine Diehl “A Behavioral Study of Lacunicambarus thomai in a field setting”

Creative Works Awards
Winner: Jayden Conner “Honey Bee Jobs”
Runner Up: Lexus Ficca “Energy Is What You Need”

Research Paper Awards
Winner: Cara Campbell “Time to Widen the Lens on Huntington’s Disease”
Runner-up: Rachelle Patterson “Role of Lipid Metabolism in VBNC Francisella tularensis”

Creative Projects Awards
Winner: Emily Everson “Happy Hippy Brand Study”
Runner-up: Kelsi Jones “Got You Covered – UIUX Design and Branding”

Research Poster Awards (Graduate)
Winner: Zachary Dillard “A Night of Devastation: Natural and Life History Observations of an En Masse Single-Night Collection of Fallicambarus devastator”
Runner-up: Ashley Vankirk “Does Water Velocity Influence Herbivory Pressure on Podostemum ceratophyllum?”

Research Poster Awards (Undergraduate)
Winner: Chaima Araibi “Detecting Autism Spectrum Disorder with Deep Neural Networks”
Runner-up: Taylor Wright-Brezee “Adverse Childhood Experiences at West Liberty University”

Dr. Danielle Mehlman-Brightwell, co-chair of the competition said, “It’s so important for students to get involved in research early on. Especially for those of students who want to pursue a master’s degree.” Mehlman-Brightwell enjoys being on the committee because she likes to see students grow.

Jayden Conner, winner of the creative works award, made an infographic about honeybee’s, their jobs and what they do throughout their lives. “I’m surprised,” Conner said after learning she won first place followed up by, “I think that’s cool.”

The awards ceremony was live streamed for the first time and can be rewatched on Topper Station.

According to Maureen Zambito, director of media relations at WLU, all judging for the competition occurred remotely. Students entering in works pre-recorded presentations and then submitted them to the committee for evaluation.

The first RECAP was held in 2017-2018 and has continued to offer students on campus an opportunity to showcase their research and other creative works before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information, please contact Annalise Murphy at [email protected], or check out the university’s press release by clicking this link.