Celebration of student scholarship returns with first-ever ACE Festival career fair
91短视频 held its ninth annual Academic and Creative Excellence (ACE) Festival on Wednesday and Thursday. The campuswide event, hosted by the Provost鈥檚 Office and organized by its Intellectual Life Committee, offered students opportunities to learn and engage with one another and to showcase their research, creative projects and papers.
In her opening remarks before the festival’s keynote address on Wednesday, Interim President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus described the ACE Festival as a 鈥渃elebration of student scholarship.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 where ideas take shape, not only in papers and research, but also in art, performance, and creative expression, and in the courage it takes to share one鈥檚 thinking with others,鈥� she said.
鈥淗ere, students learn from one another,鈥� she added. 鈥淲e engage perspectives across our fields and practice the kind of communication and collaboration that will shape our lives beyond today and this semester.鈥�
Career fair
Students connect with local employers at a career fair in the Hall of Nations on Thursday.
A new addition to this year鈥檚 ACE Festival was a career fair held Thursday inside the University Commons Hall of Nations. The event, hosted by the Alumni Engagement Office, gave students a chance to interact directly with employers, connect with alumni professionals, explore career options, and pursue internships or jobs.
Employers represented a range of industries, including Augusta Health, Merck, Park View Federal Credit Union, and Momentum Earthworks.
One of those employers was Kirby Dean 鈥�92, director of parks and recreation for Rockingham County. He previously served as head coach of the 91短视频 men鈥檚 basketball team for 15 years, leading the 鈥淩unnin鈥� Royals鈥� to the Elite Eight of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
Although his department didn鈥檛 have any full-time job openings, he said he鈥檚 always hiring part-time workers to staff the rec center desk, rake fields during baseball tournaments, or mow grass. He said the career fair was a great way to build relationships and connect with students.
鈥淚 feel like there are just good kids here,鈥� Dean said. 鈥淭hey were good when I went here from 1988 to 1992, they were good when I coached here from 2003 to 2018, and they鈥檙e good now. They鈥檙e the kind of people I鈥檓 generally looking for.鈥�
Another employer at the career fair represented the local school division. Jeron Baker, assistant director of human resources for Harrisonburg City Public Schools, said the division typically looks to fill between 50 and 60 jobs each year, mostly teaching positions in math, science, elementary education, and English Language Learner (ELL) classes.
The former associate director of 91短视频 admissions said 91短视频 graduates have a natural understanding of the diversity and complexity within Harrisonburg鈥檚 student community.
鈥淭hey sense the nuances of the human component and understand that education is not just about outcomes, but about process,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he process of knowing our students more deeply and understanding their systems more fully鈥攊t鈥檚 just something that comes naturally to 91短视频 students.鈥�
91短视频 60% of students in the city鈥檚 public schools speak Spanish at home, Baker said, and 50 to 60 languages are spoken by students across its two high schools.
鈥�91短视频鈥檚 ability to create cross-cultural experiences for its students while also bringing in international populations helps students develop cultural competency in ways that are unique to 91短视频,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat supports our populations, our students, our families, and the broader vision HCPS has for its students.鈥�
In an last week, 91短视频 sophomore Francisco Rodriguez said the event offered him a chance to look at a lot of different career paths.
鈥淪ales is a big passion of mine,鈥� he told the newspaper, 鈥渂ut understanding there are other options available here, it鈥檚 really nice to be able to check it all out.鈥�
Presentations
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP PHOTO: Senior nursing majors Emily Guin, Kristina Suslaev, and Reina Landa give a presentation on the effects of social media use on mental health in children and adolescents. | Senior engineering major Levi Stutzman discusses gentrification trends in Washington D.C. and Denver during a poster session at the Suter Science Center. | Chase Comer, a senior majoring in political science and history, presents research on shifting voting patterns in Virginia鈥檚 Buchanan and Rockingham counties.
Students from a wide range of majors presented their academic research Thursday in oral presentations and poster sessions across campus. Topics included the concentration of antioxidants in cinnamon bark, the effect of data centers on surrounding infrastructure and resources, the relationship between trauma and homelessness, and the impact of immigration enforcement on local communities.
Senior Emily Guin, part of a group of nursing majors presenting at Martin Chapel early Thursday morning, said her favorite thing about the ACE Festival was attending other presentations and supporting her peers. 鈥淚 feel like I learn something new at every presentation,鈥� she said. For instance, she said that last year she learned childhood obesity rates in Harrisonburg were higher than the national average.
Guin will work at Inova Fairfax Hospital鈥檚 Emergency Department after graduation. Her group presented on the relationship between social media use among children and adolescents and their emotional well-being and mental health. She said they researched the topic because of how relevant and new it is.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 crazy how impactful social media is, both positive and negative,鈥� Guin said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine growing up in such a digital time now. It makes me feel so old to say that, but I can鈥檛 fathom having everything posted on social media.鈥�
Like many students on campus, engineering senior Levi Stutzman had a busy day of presentations. He was part of a cohort that tracked 91短视频鈥檚 carbon emissions and presented findings showing the university is not on track to reach its goal of carbon neutrality by 2035 (as outlined in its Climate Action Plan).
He also delivered a poster presentation analyzing census data from 2000 and 2020 for areas of Washington D.C. and Denver to chart gentrification in those cities. Later that afternoon, he and three other students gave an engineering capstone presentation on a 鈥渟ingle-axis shake table鈥� they designed to simulate sesmic movement and its impact on structures.
鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to show off your projects and see what everyone else is working on,鈥� Stutzman said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a special time of the year.鈥�
Another engineering major, junior Micah Mast, presented a 3D printer he revived and upgraded. 91短视频 purchased the printer, a Makerbot Replicator+, in 2018. Because the machine鈥檚 parts and software were discontinued, it had largely been unused for several years.
鈥淚t was always the printer nobody wanted to use because the prints were low quality,鈥� Mast said. 鈥淚t just kind of sat there.鈥�
For his project, he replaced the printer鈥檚 proprietary control system with modern open-source electronics, resulting in improved print quality, a faster workflow, and long-term serviceability, all for about $150. The upgraded MakerBot adds a fourth working printer to 91短视频鈥檚 collection.
鈥淭his goes along with sustainability, using things that otherwise would鈥檝e essentially been thrown in the trash,鈥� he said.
Mast said his favorite thing about the ACE Festival is showing the rest of the school what he spent an entire semester working toward.
鈥淭here were countless hours of trying to get it to do what it鈥檚 doing right now,鈥� he said, pointing to the machine, which was successfully printing tugboats known as the 鈥�3DBenchy鈥� test print.
Art exhibition
Senior art students Donovan Arnason, Daisy Buller, Hollyn Miller, Jasmin Ruiz, and Allie Watkins presented their capstone projects during an opening reception Thursday afternoon at the Margaret Martin Gehman Gallery. The exhibition will remain on display through May 1.
Student recital
A student recital at Lehman Auditorium featured performances by vocalists Mac Rhodes-Lehman (bass) and Eli Stoll (baritone), pianists Rafael de Tablan and Micah Wenger, violinist Miriam Rhodes, violist Monica Ehrenfels, flautist Nina Dunsmore, and guitarist and vocalist Erin Yoder (alto). The musicians were accompanied by Harold Bailey and Dominic Baldoni on piano.
A wind ensemble concert was held that evening, followed by a university choir concert on Friday as part of the weeklong ACE Festival lineup. View recordings of those concerts on the .
Authors’ Reception and Award Presentation
The 17th annual Authors鈥� Reception and Award Presentation recognized and celebrated the winners of 91短视频鈥檚 Excellence in Teaching Awards. Faculty members Dr. Ryan Good, Dr. Kathryn Howard-Ligas, and Kevin Carini were announced as this year鈥檚 recipients.
Click the post below for testimonials about each recipient, the winners of the student writing and academic awards, and the faculty and student authors recognized for their published scholarly works.
| 2026 STEM Celebration poster awards 鈥斺赌斺赌�Upperclass Division鈥斺赌斺赌� (Including independent research, Molecular Biology, Environmental Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry posters) 1st place 鈥� Maria Longenecker and Zoe Clymer ATPsyn尾L knockdown in glutamate neurons extends lifespan and preserves gut integrity in Drosophila melanogaster 2nd place 鈥� Ethan Neufeld, Tara Cahill, and Dante Flowe Comparing Salmonella Incidence in Local Chicken Egg Sources Honorable Mention 鈥� Kristen Andersen, Ephrata Amare, and Jade Davis Spice to Science: Extracting Cinnamic Acid from Cinnamon Bark Honorable Mention 鈥� Lemi Bekele and Seungmin Cha Environmental Degradation of Plastics Under Different Chemical and Natural Conditions 鈥斺赌斺赌�Underclass Division鈥斺赌斺赌� (Including General Chemistry and Environmental Applications of GIS posters) 1st place 鈥� Ella Nguyen and Karina Bondaruk Solubility of Anti Inflammatory substances: Pau D鈥檃rco vs. Leading Over-the-Counter Anti Inflammatory Medication Ibuprofen 2nd place 鈥� Adam Rhodes Accessing The Viability Of Car Free Living In Harrisonburg Honorable Mention 鈥� Malia Yoder and Claire Hurst Antioxidant concentrations in different apple varieties 鈥斺赌斺赌�Projects Division鈥斺赌斺赌� (Engineering) 1st place 鈥� Micah Mast MakerBot Replicator revitalization 2nd place 鈥� Maxim Fritts and Barry Muluneh Design and Implementation of a Greenhouse Misting System Honorable Mention 鈥� Alondra Hernandez Gonzalez and Dianne Meli Low-cost Ventilation System for Improving Humidity and Temperature Control |
Keynote address
A keynote address by Dr. Deborah Lawrence, chief scientist at Calyx Global, opened the ACE Festival on Wednesday morning. Lawrence, who taught at the University of Virginia as an environmental sciences professor for more than 25 years, reflected on Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, 91短视频鈥檚 Common Read this year, and spoke about her research on forests in Borneo, Mexico, and around the world.
Read our recap of her address below:
The ACE Festival is hosted by the Provost鈥檚 Office and made possible by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; the Center for Interfaith Engagement; and the Daniel B. Suter Endowment, which supports 91短视频鈥檚 commitment to fostering curiosity, discovery, and scientific learning.
For a full schedule of ACE Festival events, visit .
Photos by Aric Berg and Jon Styer/At Ease Consulting
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