Thursday, November 17 was the semi-annual Graduate Student Showcase in the Alumni
Lounge. Students and faculty, from 3:30-6 p.m., were free to roam the rows of trifolds to
learn about U.N.H. graduate student’s various research projects and internships.
This showcase happens twice a year, once in the Fall Semester and once in the Spring
Semester. It is a chance for U.N.H. graduate students to not only showcase the work
they have been doing, but to practice presenting their research for conferences or for
larger events they might need to attend going forward in their careers.
Graduate Assistant Andrea Shaker says, “It’s really nice to highlight the students and the
campus. It is a proud moment for all participating graduate students.”
One participating graduate student, Hamsa Suresh, was presenting her internship with
the Wildlife Conservation Society in Bronx, New York. She worked on the organization’s
new WCS: 2020 strategy, training teams all over the world. This strategy is working to
preserve land in 15 priority regions that are home to more than 50 percent of the world’s
diversity. Suresh has been working to develop a skilled assessment to better determine
what needs to be trained in a leadership team. She is in the Industrial Psychology
program and has been using her skills to help the organization with their efforts.
“It’s interesting to see the difference before and after training to see how we, as
Industrial Psychologists, make an impact in a positive way,” says Suresh.
She’s been evaluating the training of these teams and constructing a tool to assess
training across the world. Her internship is currently still going on and she is actively
working to achieve the strategies goals.
Another student, Richard Rotella, President of the Graduate Student Council, presented
his internship with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Fire Arms in Patterson, New
Jersey. He worked with criminal tracking, specifically with firearms, to link various
illegal firearm purchases to potential threats with trafficking. Rotella also got the
opportunity to attend multiple firearm recertification trainings and even had the
opportunity to work with a U.N.H. alum.
“It is nice being able to share what I learn and what I’m passionate about while being
able to show how experimental U.N.H. really is,” says Rotella.
While the event was designed to showcase the graduate student work it was not
exclusive to graduate students. Undergraduate students were welcomed and encouraged
to attend and take a look at the research presented. The event’s coordinators strived to
make it beneficial to all who attended.
“It can really help undergraduate students to form ideas for research they may want to
do in the future. It is a learning experience for those who come,” says Shaker.
“Specifically for undergraduate students, they have the opportunity to expand their
knowledge,” Graduate Assistant, Judah Butler, who organized the showcase, explains.
“The showcase also helps us market to those looking at graduate school, showing that
U.N.H. invests in our graduate students.”
There were also judges who walked around throughout the time, judging each presenter
and their research. At the end of the night there are five winners announced, each
receiving a $100 amazon gift card along with a certificate.
If you missed the showcase be sure to check out the second one in the spring.
