Honors Research Symposium at Stanford 2008

Foothill Goes to The Farm

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)

Opening Ceremony

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.

Keynote Speaker

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.

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.

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." 

Performance by Stanford Taiko Drummers

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

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.

Contribute Your Own Comments on the Symposium Experience Here

Whether you were a presenter, an organizer, a moderator, or a member of the audience, share your impressions of the Honors Research Symposium with us here.  Just click the "comments" button to have your say!  Better yet, how about some suggestions (or inspirations) for next year?

Complete List of Student Presentations

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