Students, faculty, and community members are all invited to view the 6th Annual Celebration of Creative Inquiry taking place during Honors Weekend on Friday, May 3 in the Banquet Rooms in the C. Charles Jackson Campus Center from 5-7 p.m.
The Celebration of Creative Inquiry is a campus-wide forum for Gustavus students to share and engage members of the campus with their research projects. Students will present as individuals or as part of a class group, team or organization.
The student presentations will be split into two sessions due to the large volume of student work. Session A will run from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., while Session B will run from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
“[It began] as a grassroots effort. There was a group of faculty at a summer workshop who were brainstorming about how to celebrate student achievements in research, scholarship and creativity. They spent the school year planning it, and the first year there were about 100 posters,” Physics Professor and Faculty Associate for Undergraduate Research Thomas Huber said.
Roughly 120 posters will be presented, with 50 different faculty sponsors, representing 27 different academic and support departments. Students ranging from first-years to seniors are participating in the event, which is supported by the Provost’s Office, the Office of Marketing and Communication, and the John S. Kendall Center for Engaged Learning.
Junior Spanish Major Laura Flicek will present a project through her Spanish 390 class, “Film in Spanish.” Students were assigned vignettes to feature by making a documentary. All the vignettes are based on the partnership La Mano’s Entrepreneurial Doorway Project (EDP) and the Greater Mankato Diversity Council and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC).
“As a class, we have learned so much about roadblocks that minorities face while trying to start their own business. I think that presenting our documentaries will highlight the ray of hope that EDA and SBDC bring to minorities, and their passion for helping minorities achieve the american dream, as well as benefiting our own community through increasing the amount of private businesses,” Flicek said.
Junior Scandinavian Studies and Latin Honors Major Zachery Blinkinsop participated with his Latin 302 class to perform Catullan and Horatian poetry on camera according to the classical poetic meters.
“We hope to show people how Roman poetry from the early 1st century BCE might sound to a contemporary Roman. We wanted to present our performance at the Creative Inquiry not only to showcase a beautiful and ancient artform but also to uphold the tradition of upper level Latin classes presenting at the celebration,” Blinkinsop said.
“I think that our class will benefit from the performative aspect and by explaining it to people at the Creative Inquiry, it forces us to obtain a deeper personal knowledge of the literature. It is an important campus tradition because it fosters an atmosphere of academic curiosity and encourages students, faculty, and visitors to take interest in students’ research and academic excellence. It truly is an asset to students and to the school,” Blinkinsop said.
Other students share a similar sentiment.
“It is an excellent way for students to showcase their research and ingenuity,” Flicek said.