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Above, from left, Ganesh Trichur, Laura Garry, Dan Ramsey, Jessica Venezia, Jordan Spiegel and Cathy Crosby-Currie

The Fifth Annual William O'Brien First-Year Research Prizes have been awarded to three students whose projects for the 2007-2008 academic year were judged to "best reflect the goals of the First-Year Seminars."

First Prize, $250, went to Jordan Spiegel '11, of Chazy, NY, for the paper "Maintaining the Parental Right: Applying the Harm Standard In Grandparent Visitation Cases." His instructor was Associate Dean of the First Year and Associate Professor of Psychology Cathy Crosby-Currie.

Jessica Venezia '11, of Glenmont, NY, won second prize, $100, for "Athletes and Nutrition: Supplements and Why Not To Use Them." Her instructor was Professor of English Patricia Alden.

There was a tie for the third-place prize of $50, between Laura Garry '11, of Watertown, NY, for the paper "Finding Ourselves in the Gangster," and Daniel Ramsey '11, of Essex Junction, VT, for "Shades of Green: Different Sects of the Environmental Movement and Their Goals." Garry's instructor was Adjunct Instructor of Fine Arts Kathleen Stein; Ramsey's instructor was Assistant Professor of Global Studies Ganesh Trichur.

The William O'Brien First-Year Research Prizes were created in honor of O'Brien, a member of the Class of 2006 who was killed in an accident the summer after his first year at St. Lawrence. His family and friends created a fund in his memory, specifically to benefit the First-Year Program and students participating in the program. The research prizes and the First-Year Cup are supported by the fund.

Each spring, the faculty and administrators of the First-Year Program select three students whose research in their First-Year Seminar best reflects the goals of the seminar. Those three students receive cash awards and present their research to the campus community upon their return to campus in the fall of their sophomore year. Students are nominated by their seminar advisors, and submissions are judged on their "creativity, originality, the quality of their written or oral presentation and, especially, their ability to meet the research goals of the First-Year Seminar," which are:

- To assess the research requirements of a particular assignment and to meet those requirements by using library collections, electronic databases and Web-based sources.
- To be able to choose amongst these sources to determine which are most appropriate for a particular assignment.
- To assess and represent the complexity of a particular line of inquiry and to enter responsibly into the conversation about the issues it raises.

More information: First-Year Program

Research Opportunities at St. Lawrence

Posted: October 30, 2008