Student Scholarship, Creativity, and Curiosity Shine During Festival Day 2026
On Friday, April 24, student brilliance was on display for our festival of Science, Scholarship, and Creativity. Across campus, the St. Lawrence community came together to celebrate student research presentations, musical and dance performances, and the senior art exhibition. This campus tradition has been a highlight of the spring semester since 2014.
Nearly 160 student research presentations showcased the diverse and interdisciplinary interests of St. Lawrence students, as well as their productive collaborations with faculty mentors. Topics ranged from student perceptions of large language models to research involving 80 student participants exploring whether chewing gum can improve motor performance under stress, to investigations of how beavers influence biodiversity in St. Lawrence County, to examinations of the cultural and physical dimensions of Kung Fu.
Senior math major James Gatcliffe’s research, guided by his professor Leiyue Li, used data-driven analysis of international ski rankings to examine how point adjustments can shift race standings, showing that even seemingly uniform penalties may have unequal impacts across different groups of competitors. James was a coach for the alpine squad of Trinidad and Tabago in the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games. His sister, Emma ’27, competed for the team.
“I’ve had a really great time doing my research project," says James. "It was a perfect combination of my passion for ski racing and using what I learned in my applied regression analysis course with Jessica Chapman this semester, as well as my math and my statistics background, into a senior year independent study. It all came together really nicely.”
Elsewhere on campus, the annual Spring Dance Concert illuminated Gulick Theatre for three consecutive nights. There were 41 total students involved in bringing the show to life, including 38 performers, three choreographers, and nine in the lighting and backstage crew—some of whom also shared their talents under the spotlights. The concert featured a range of styles, from Irish step and hip hop to modern contemporary, jazz, and musical theater.
Meanwhile, in the Richard F. Brush Gallery, students, faculty, and staff gathered for the opening of the senior art exhibit, “Whose kids are these?” It included works from 13 total senior artists, who each looked inward at their own artistic processes and muses to create unique pieces that feel as dear (and, at times, as frustrating) to them as children. The artists explored a range of mediums, including painting, ceramics, printmaking, digital collage, photography, and video.
In nearby Peterson Kermani Hall, two talented students shared what they’ve been working on in all semester in private lessons. Declan Roberts, piano, played Gigi D’Agostino’s L’amour toujours (1999), and Julia Rowe, flute, is played three movements from the Poulenc Sonata for Flute and Piano (1958).
In the evening, SLU Funk brought the groove in the Launders Underground, and Folk Fest brought both students and community members together on the Old Java Quad for tunes and good vibes.
Festival Day Projects, Presentations, and Performances by the Numbers
Top 5 Majors Represented:
- Environmental studies
- Biology
- Psychology
- Chemistry
- Philosophy
Research Topics:
- 64 in the sciences
- 13 in the arts
- 18 in the humanities
- 31 in the social sciences
- 24 in math, computer science, and statistics
- 10 in the First-Year Program
- 13 in our newest disciplines, including data science, public health, and biomedical sciences
Patterns Among Presentation Topics:
- 24 having to do with the environment and climate change
- 5 about AI and emerging technologies
- 13 about physical and mental wellbeing
- 11 concerning sports and gaming
- 22 that concern local issues and topics on campus and in the North Country
Some unique topics include:
- Kung Fu
- Chewing gum
- Christmas trees
- Doomscrolling
Spring Dance Concert
- 41 total students participated, many playing multiple roles
- 30 performers
- 3 choreographers
- 9 in the lighting and backstage crew
- 5 different styles of dance: Irish step, hip hop, modern contemporary, jazz, and musical theater.
"Whose kids are these?" Senior Art Opening
- 13 students artists
- A range of mediums used, including ceramics, painting, digital collage, photography, video, and printmaking
