NorCal Honors Research Symposium

2011 Stanford Symposium

Here are some highlights from this year's Symposium -- hosted at Stanford's Cubberly School of Education.  Even though proposals from campuses across California went up by 35% (186 total), Foothill students still represented almost 10% of those selected.  Go Owls! 

Guest speakers included a diverse panel of recent transfer students to Stanford--ranging from a former DJ who wants to be an MD, to a Chilean student from Maimi Dade Community College in Florida, to a military vet with two kids -- and a research project with a Nobel Laureate at Stanford to brag about.

Special congratulations to Foothill student presenters Erin McGrady, Shervin Nakhjavani, Quinn Griffin, Kiah Breslin-Kessler, Amy Ackerman, Joel Yap, Sam Zuo, Matt Jarvis, Daniel Hardin, and Catherine Hatas!  Hey, why not add your own name to this list next year?

For a complete description of all the 2011 presentations, download the full conference program: Download BHC2011ProgramContent(1)

 

Left:  Opening Ceremony

Below: FH student presenters Quinn Griffin and Shervin Nakhjavani

click to enlarge any photo!

2010 Berkeley Symposium Photo Gallery

Susanna A. Castillo-Robson Marsha Jaeger, Associate Vice-Chancellor for Admissions and Enrollment.  Just click on the "keep reading" button to view a gallery of some of the other speakers and participants at this year's CAL event.

2010 CAL Symposium Highlights

A dozen Foothill student presenters -- along with a whole contingent of supporters including Foothill faculty, staff, parents, and other Honors Institute student observers -- trekked to CAL on a perfect sunny spring Saturday for the 3rd annual Honors Research Symposium. 

After opening remarks in the MLK Student Union from Berkeley's Director of Admissions, and inspiring tips from a former community college transfer student just completing his Master's Thesis, we adjourned for two rounds of break-out presentations In Wheeler Hall.

  Over lunch we heard from a full panel of community colleges transfers from a wide variety of fields and backgrounds--followed by a third breakout session.

The day was capped with a performance by CAL's colorful Aztec Dancers. In a concluding flourish, a FH student took top honors as the recipient of the $200 Heslet Scholarship for Best Presentation!  

We even got support from several FH transfers nearing graduation from Berkeley this year -- including Kelvin Ng from Hass Business School -- who took time away from their own studies to cheer on their alma mater.

The full program --including the names of all presenters and the titles of their presentations -- is available on PDF by clicking on the link below.

Download 2010 Honors Symposium Program

13 Foothill College Presenters Selected for Symposium 2010!

Out of a total of 130 proposals from Honors students across CA, 13 of those selected to present their research are from Foothill College -- including one member of our own class (congrats, Jasmine Madavi!).  Note that 10 of the 13 Foothill students  selected are graduates of E1A Honors from last year....and 8 of the presentations selected were based on research papers  written for English 1AH.

So please start planning to be part of the excitement yourself.   You could start by making the trek over to Berkeley in May -- in order to be a member of the audience  and cheer your student colleagues on!  The FH Honors Institute would be more than happy to pay your conference registration fees, and there's sure no better way to get the hang of these conferences  than by watching other students strut their stuff. 

What?  Don't have time to go all the way over to Berkeley?  Then come be part of the audience here on campus during one of the required "dress rehearsals" at Foothill next month.

See the complete list of FH presenters  in Honors Director Bernie Day's email below, links to further info about the Berkeley conference,  and specific information about the dress rehearsal times/locations here on campus.

Sample Application Abstracts--Where's Yours?

 

 
Considered applying to this year's Honors Symposium (hosted at Berkeley)?  Look in the comments section below to find some samples posted by last year's students based on their own successful applications.  Your task is to describe your entire presentation in a brief, clear, compelling paragraph (the symposium equivalent of a Silicon Valley "elevator speech").  I'm happy to help you with drafting your proposal -- but don't wait until the last possible second to ask for help!

Last year, Foothill College had the largest number of student proposals accepted. We hope to continue with that tradition! What about this year?  Why not You?

Complete List of Student Presentations 2008

Here's a PDF of the Symposium Program.  The Foothill students who presented their research were Alexandra van Loggerenberg, Patricia Bottero, Ryan Carroll, and Maryam Bordbari. Their mentors were Dr. Harry Saterfield, Dr. Meredith Heiser, Dr. Joseph Woolcock, and Joy Crevier, in that same order.

[Please note that the presentation by Foothill students Benjamin Hughes, Kamia Maleki, Erin Diggs, and Ruth Bacon was canceled.]

Download 2008 Symposium_Program_Agenda.pdf

Download Stanford_Welcome_Letter_from_Richard_Shaw_1.pdf

graphic image = official 2008 Symposium poster

Reflections from FH Honors Director Bernie Day

Congratulations to all of the Foothill students who were selected to present their research at what we hope is the first of many Honors Research Symposiums.

The Foothill College community is proud of their efforts...and appreciative of the dedication and mentorship of the faculty who worked with the students and/or facilitated breakout sessions. Readers may be unaware that, due to the unexpectedly large number of applications, several student groups with impressive research proposals were not selected to present at this event. We hope these students will continue to excel in their research and consider applying to present next year.

Performance by Stanford Taiko Drummers 2008

Stanford's Taiko Drummers -- masters of a dynamic traditional art form from Japan -- gave us a real wakeup call after lavish free lunch in the Alumni Center gardens.  Who says there's No Free Lunch at Stanford?

photos courtesy of Stanford New-Service website

Foothill Student Research Presentations

Foothill students were also well-represented among the more than fifty research topics covered that day.  Here, for example, is current Foothill student Aleksandra van Loggerenberg presenting her anthropology-based paper entitled "No Marriage for China's Na." 

Symposium Organizer Extraordinaire: Foothill's Counselor Mary-Lou Heslet

Underlining Foothill's pivotal role in creating this conference Symposium co-director (and Foothill counselor) Mary-Lou Heslet filled us in on the nuts-and-bolts of the day's agenda before sending participants off to begin the first round of presentations.

Keynote Speaker 2008

To make us all especially proud, the featured conference keynote speaker was none other than our own Lydia Lopez, a former Foothill student who transferred to Stanford -- and who now attends UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law where she is studying to become an International Asylum Lawyer.  As an international immigrant (and a new mother) Lydia showed us all just how far a Foothill education can take you.  Her Foothill professor and mentor, Professor Joe Woolcock, was at the ready with a camera to record the occasion -- and remains especially proud of Lydia's continuning commitment to social justice and global human rights.

Opening Ceremony 2008

At 9:00 a.m. more than one hundred of us gathered in the main hall of Stanford's gleaming new Alumni Center to hear greetings from Stanford Officials.

Foothill Goes to The Farm 2008

On Friday April 18 a large contingent of Foothill College students, faculty, and staff made the five-mile trek to Palo Alto. Our goal:  the first-ever Community College Honors Research Symposium at Stanford -- featuring live presentations by community college honors students from as far as Modesto and as close as Skyline and San Francisco.  After a full day of activities, including everything from a Taiko Drum Performance to a workshop by Stanford Admissions Counselor Michael Pichay on "How to Apply and Thrive at Highly Selective Universities," here's some brief highlights, reviews, and reflections on Foothill's Big Day at The Farm.

All photos and text by Foothill English Professor Scott Lankford (unless otherwise noted)