Maiken Zoëga-Nielsen | Reporter
March 18, 2016; 4:30 p.m.

Lindenwood students will have an opportunity to experience some of their peers’ widely diverse research projects at the fourth annual Student Research Symposium. The event takes place from 2-7 p.m. Wednesday in the Spellmann Center.

The symposium consists of all student-submitted research work from LU graduates and undergraduates. Participating students will have a unique opportunity to gain valuable experience in public speaking when they present their work through a poster presentation or for a 20-minute panel.

Elizabeth Fleitz, assistant professor in the English department and the organizer of the event, said that the symposium offers several very beneficial aspects for the students involved.

“It can be a career building kind of thing,” Fleitz said, “or it can be a really good learning experience for students to give a presentation to a group of people about their research. So, that skill in itself can go on their resume and give them more experience with speaking in public.”

Fleitz has been teaching at Lindenwood for three years, but this is her first year directing the symposium. According to her, the symposium has received decent attendance in the last couple of years, and this year is no exception.

“I think, this year, we had about 60 submissions,” Fleitz said.

A total of more than $3,000 will be awarded to the winning entries. First Place alone is awarded $200.

But the prizes are not the purpose of the event. According to Fleitz, one of the main goals of the research symposium is to draw bridges between the many disciplines offered at Lindenwood.

“It’s really to encourage students to present what kind of research they are doing to a larger audience,” she said. “Rather than only doing their research and submitting it to their class, that they get to present it to other people, people from different disciplines to students and faculty from other parts of the campus.”

Spectators, either from campus or the community, are welcome to join any of the panel sessions or observe the poster presentations in the Anheuser-Busch Leadership Room, where refreshments will also be provided.

Fleitz said, “Getting the students involved, getting the faculty involved and bringing it all together is what we’re trying to do here.”