FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 23, 2015

For More Information:
Glenville State College
Public Relations Department
(304) 462-4115

GLENVILLE, WV - The winners of the fifth annual Glenville State College Pioneer Showcase Creative Arts and Research Forum have been announced. The competition, which is judged by campus faculty, allows full-time GSC students the opportunity to formally present their research and creative arts abstracts.

"This year's showcase had 40 different presentations in the form of oral talks, posters, and artistic displays. Students from all academic departments participated and judges commented on the high quality of the presentations, which made awarding winners a difficult choice," said Dr. Sara Sawyer who serves as both an Associate Professor of Biology and coordinator for the showcase. Sawyer added, "Students who participated had a wonderful opportunity to show their projects and gain experience in presenting. Plus, the Pioneer Showcase allows the campus community to learn about the high quality of work that GSC students do and as well as the diversity of that work.”

Winners in the literary category included first place recipient Jake Harper with his presentation titled 'Shame: The Driving Force of Hostility and Violence,' second place winner Erica Whitney with her 'Answering the Question of Crime' presentation, and a tie for third place between Matthew Samples' 'Anti-Semitism in Shakespeare's 'Merchant of Venice'' and Lindsey Acree's 'Two Antigones.'

Judith Kennen and Larry Grover took top honors in the science category with their presentation titled, 'Effects of the Antidepressant Imipramine on Long Term Potentiation (LTP) and Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in the Rat Hippocampus.'

Nathan Kincaid, with assistance from Dr. Jong-Hoon Yu, won first place in the miscellaneous presentation category with his discussion on 'Factors Affecting Fan Misbehavior at Sporting Events.'

A separate portion of the showcase included a poster session for science projects. Tia LeMaster, with guidance from Dr. Kevin Evans, took first place with her project on 'Effect of UV Light on Anti-Markovnikov Hydrobromination.' Second place went to the group comprised of Samuel Canfield, Jennifer Rudger, and Josh Lynn, advised by Dr. Ross Conover, on 'Pocket Gopher Activity Across Elevational Gradients.' Finally, Chad Ingram and Dr. Rico Gazal took third place with the presentation on 'The Effect of Precipitation on Diameter Growth of Quercus Alba and Quercus Prinus.'

The art display session was won by Angenay Williams with her piece titled, 'American Dream.'

For more information about the GSC Pioneer Showcase, contact Sawyer at Sara.Sawyer @glenville.edu or (304) 462-6303.