Students across two courses (ENS 1100: Humans and Nature (Spring 2025)聽and WHE 2850: Perspectives in Personal and Global Health聽(Spring 2025)) completed eight outdoor sit spots over the course of a month as part of a course assignment. Students were asked to spend time in an outdoor space on campus, and quietly observe their surroundings, noting a range of sensory experiences, and reflect on the changes in that space over time. Using a pre- and post-test model, they found statistically significant improvements in mindfulness, positive affect, and nature connectedness in students across the two courses.

The newly published article, “,” is authored by Elon faculty, Kelsey Bitting and Jill McSweeney, Elon alum Elyssa Kaufman 鈥�25 (Environmental Sciences), and graduating senior, Kira Campagna 鈥�26, an elementary education major, with a minor in environmental education). The work builds on growing research connecting nature exposure and contemplative practices with improved student wellness and academic outcomes.

Student researchers, Kaufman and Campagna, played a central role throughout the project and have at several undergraduate research and pedagogical conferences. Their project work specifically examined how outdoor mindfulness practices influenced mood, mindful awareness, and students鈥� relationship with nature. Their presentations highlighted significant increases in positive affect, nature connectedness and mindfulness among students who completed the sit spot assignment.

In collaboration with Evan Small, additional research this past academic year recruited over 80 students across four courses (i.e., ENS 1100: Humans and Nature (Fall 2025), WHE 1150: Stress and Wellness (Fall 2025), HEU 1719: Foraging and Wild Foods (Fall 2025), and COR 3555: Foraging Wild Food and Medicine (Spring 鈥�26)). Using data from these four courses, graduating senior, Abigail Manning (Environmental Sciences) recently explored how sit spots affect students鈥� mindfulness and nature connectivity across different majors and disciplines. Her research found that students in nature-focused majors often experienced even stronger gains in mindfulness and nature connectedness through the sit spot practice.

The research team plans to continue building on these findings over the summer. Kiley Sherlock 鈥�27, an environmental sciences major, will conduct qualitative analysis on student reflections for her Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, exploring how students define nature and further exploring how the sit spot practice impacts student stress across the semester. The team also plans on additional publications exploring the impact of student demographics, and focus on a practice-oriented piece on how to support colleagues to bring contemplative pedagogies which incorporate nature into their classrooms to support the wellbeing of students and themselves.

Together, the project reflects Elon鈥檚 commitment to engaged learning and undergraduate research, while also contributing meaningful scholarship to conversations around student wellness, mindfulness, and environmental connection.

The 29 students were divided into teams and paired with faculty advisors who guided them throughout the yearlong process.

鈥淭hese students got this project in August in the form of a two- or three-page document and an email address to contact, and they took it from there,鈥� said Will Pluer, assistant professor of engineering. 鈥淭hey broke down their projects into subsystems and tasks, we had weekly scrum meetings where it felt like only little things were being achieved and eventually those little things turned into mockups in the fall and full prototypes this spring.鈥�

One team partnered with Gilbarco Veeder-Root to improve security measures for gas station pumps that had experienced break-ins. The group added a sensor to the bottom of the machine to alert owners to unauthorized access, reinforced the bottom latch and installed an electrical component designed to preserve data during power outages.

Rahv Tupac-Yupanqui 鈥�26, a mechanical engineering major from Virginia Beach, Virginia, said the project was a thorough culmination of years of coursework.

鈥淲e take classes where you do specific projects here and there, and eventually, down the line, it turns out that a skill, or many skills, that you learned on a specific project will help you do larger projects,鈥� Tupac-Yupanqui said.

While students had worked with clients in previous engineering courses, Tupac-Yupanqui said the scale of the project and the level of communication with the company made this experience different.

鈥淚t feels like a huge privilege to be able to communicate with a company at such an intensive rate,鈥� Tupac-Yupanqui said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really glad I got to do it because it gives me a really good perspective on what an engineering company does. Even though no engineering company works the same way, there is always a level of understanding that happens between engineers.鈥�

Another team partnered with Driver Rehabilitation Services to redesign a Sure Grip vehicle driving system for people with physical impairments.

The original system had a “jerking” and rotational movement when pulled to accelerate the vehicle. Students redesigned the mechanism, so it moved back and forth along a single plane.

鈥淲henever you pulled it back for acceleration, instead of moving in a straight line forward and back, it would rotate a little bit toward the center of your chest,鈥� said Wiley Falter 鈥�26, a mechanical engineering major from Fayetteville, North Carolina. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fine for a driver that has full arm strength, but quadriplegic drivers only have strength coming from their shoulder, and so everyone would push in. It made it really awkward to push it back out, get it back into idle and brake.鈥�

Like Tupac-Yupanqui, Falter said working with a real client was one of the most valuable parts of the experience.

鈥淚t was cool to communicate with the engineers who work there,鈥� Falter said. 鈥淲e all really enjoyed that part the most because it gave you a view into the real world of engineering and not just the bubble of being in college. It was super fun to get really constructive criticism on everything that we did.鈥�

Pluer said the hands-on, client-based experience is what makes the course unique.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really important for us to give our students real problems to tackle,鈥� Pluer said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e moving out of the classroom into careers, so we give them projects from clients that push them and make them realize that engineering is truly a service industry, serving others through design.鈥�

The article shares findings from a two-year undergraduate research project led by Dagli while at Elon. The study聽identified聽genetically diverse聽reoviruses with enhanced oncolytic potential against fibrosarcoma, a type of cancer that arises in connective tissue. By focusing on viruses that preferentially infect and kill cancer cells, the work advances ongoing efforts to explore new strategies for cancer treatment.

Dagli completed four semesters of mentored research in Rivera-Serrano鈥檚 laboratory聽and聽participated聽in Elon鈥檚 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience in 2024. She received internal and external funding for her work and presented her research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Pittsburgh, the annual meeting of the American Association of Immunologists in Honolulu, and multiple local venues. She was selected as an Elon’s Provost Scholar, and received the Acorn to Oak Senior Award by the Biology Department in 2025 for her growth during her undergraduate years and contributions to the department.

Dagli聽is currently completing a postbaccalaureate research experience at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, where she is continuing to build聽expertise聽in virology and聽immunology research聽as she prepares for the next stage of her career as a health professional.聽Her聽current work includes HTLV聽(Human T-lymphotropic virus 1)-related diagnostic research under the mentorship of Steven Jacobson, allowing her to continue building聽expertise聽in virology and translational biomedical science.

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As the spring semester at 福利亚洲国产精品 draws to a close, the campus remained vibrant and full of energy throughout April. The 2025鈥�26 Elon Speaker Series wrapped up with a visit from bestselling author Frank Bruni, while nearly 200 students, faculty, and staff came together to celebrate Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colors. Progress also continued on the new Roberts Academy, and Elon hosted its largest-ever Spring Undergraduate Research Forum.

Take a look back at April through the lens of the University Communications team.

A new life for Holland House

University leaders and student-athletes celebrated a new era for Elon鈥檚 Holland House on South Campus with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that debuted a preeminent home for the Phoenix men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 golf programs. Before the latest renovation, the building was home to two Elon presidents and administrative offices 鈥� and even moved across campus.

The Montagues in McCrary

福利亚洲国产精品 Performing Arts brought history’s most famous love story to McCrary Theatre with “Romeo and Juliet.” The Shakespearean tragedy tells the tale of Romeo, from the House of Montague, and Juliet, from the House of Capulet, who secretly fall in love and get married, despite their families disapproval.

Stargazing for mental health

Students were encouraged to engage with nature in support of their mental wellness through the Star Gazing for Mental Health event at Lake Verona. The Astronomy Club, Counseling Services, the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education and the Office of Sustainability sponsored the event.

Trollinger’s new look

Renovations have started on Trollinger House, which was once a small residence hall but will soon serve as the temporary location for Roberts Academy at 福利亚洲国产精品, an all-day private school for children with dyslexia that opens in August.

Established in 2025 through a gift from philanthropists Hal and Marjorie Roberts of Lakeland, Florida, the Roberts Academy at 福利亚洲国产精品 will be the fourth in a series of successful university-based private elementary schools the couple also supported at Vanderbilt University, Mercer University and Florida Southern College.

A Holi Celebration

On April 10, a warm and sunny spring afternoon, nearly 200 students, faculty, and staff gathered on the lawn of the Lambert Academic Village to celebrate Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colors.聽This year marked the 14th anniversary of Holi at Elon, a tradition led by the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life.

Escaping the ‘age of grievance’

Journalist and bestselling author Frank Bruni delivered a sold-out Frank P. Elder Lecture in Whitley Auditorium on April 9. He explored how Americans are聽living in what he calls an 鈥渁ge of grievance,鈥� a time where more people believe they are losing because someone else is winning. The Elder Lecture marks the final event of the 2025-26 福利亚洲国产精品 Speaker Series.

A record-breaking SURF

福利亚洲国产精品 held its largest-ever Spring Undergraduate Research Forum on April 28, featuring 384 presentations, including 229 poster presentations, 155 oral presentations, and performances.

SURF Day is an annual event at the university, during which other campus activities are suspended to celebrate the academically centered creative endeavors and research efforts of Elon students.

Double CAA Champs

Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams took home CAA titles in April.聽The conference title was the , when the Phoenix also took down UNCW. This was Elon’s fifth straight CAA championship match, all of which were against the Seahawks. With the victory, Elon secures an automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship.

The women have , with both championship match victories coming against William & Mary.聽With the win, Elon secured the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship.

Go baby go!

For the first time, Elon students brought the Go Baby Go initiative to campus, adapting ride-on toy cars for children with mobility challenges.

The collaborative effort between the Elon Engineering Club, Phoenix Racing and the Department of Physical Therapy brought the Go Baby Go Initiative to Elon鈥檚 campus for the first time. Founded in 2012 at the University of Delaware, Go Baby Go is a national initiative that modifies ride-on toy cars to meet the individual physical needs of young children who experience mobility challenges.

鈥淚 always knew that I wanted a career with kids; it鈥檚 my passion,鈥� she said.

Seeing her family member deal with hardships like a lack of access to resources and a lack of understanding from other students and educators was a driving factor in her wanting to pursue an education major.

鈥淲atching them go through their schooling experience really made me want to be with them throughout that process. It drove me to become that support person for somebody else,” said Ragals.

Ragals initially didn鈥檛 have Elon on her radar until she came to visit a friend and saw the campus firsthand. After her visit, she researched the Teaching Fellows program and came back for Fellows Weekend to tour and meet with a professor.

Her large high school left little room to truly connect with professors, so when she met with Lisa Buchanan, associate professor of education, for her Teaching Fellows interview, she felt an instant connection.

鈥淭hat interview is what sealed the deal for me,” she said. “I knew that I was going to be able to explore my interests in education very deeply throughout the Fellows program. I knew Elon was the place for me.鈥�

Ragals even remembers the exact moment when she received the final decision notification for her admission into the program.

鈥淚 remember driving with a friend, and I had her open the notification for me, and I found out I got in and started crying from joy,” Ragals said.

Her acceptance into the Teaching Fellows program opened the doors for her to become the best educator she strives to be. Through her Fellows cohort, she was able to take her passion for education to the next level through a DC trip, a study abroad program in New Zealand and her research conducted alongside her first Elon connection 鈥撀燣isa Buchanan.

During her DC trip, she had the opportunity to take a course focused on politics in education.

鈥淚鈥檓 a poverty and social justice minor and very interested in the politics of education, so the trip to DC was perfect for me. That solidified my interest and that I want to work in the DC area post-graduation,鈥� said Ragals.

The travel and teaching exploration didn鈥檛 end there. In her spring semester of sophomore year, Ragals had the opportunity to study at the University of Otago in New Zealand. The culture and education system of New Zealand is primarily focused on fostering the students鈥� connection to the environment and indigenous culture.

鈥淭his focus made a lot of the students feel seen and made it an inclusive classroom community; it truly broadened my mindset of what inclusivity means in the classroom,” she explained.

The last month of her semester abroad, the group moved to the west and taught a kindergarten class in Queenstown, New Zealand. This class was collaborative, meaning there were two class sections joined as one to follow the lesson plans. Ragals noted the collaborative environment鈥檚 effects.

鈥淲hen I am working in schools post-graduate, that鈥檚 the kind of energy I want to bring to meetings or any type of grade level work, and lesson planning, it should all be collaborative and a team effort, so I enjoyed that aspect of it,” she said. 鈥淭he (study abroad) experiences completely changed me as a person. It challenged me a lot, but in the best way possible. I am a much better and much more resilient and flexible educator because of it.鈥�

When asked what she is most proud of accomplishing, Ragals noted her comprehensive research done with Buchanan on the exploration of children鈥檚 literature on autism representation in picture books. Inspired by her loved one on the spectrum, Ragals used a book list of 25 children鈥檚 books and analyzed them based on the types of characters that were included in them and if they were portrayed to perpetuate stereotypes.

Her finalized research was presented at the North Carolina Reading State Conference and presented on SURF day. She earned a grant for her research as well, so she now has a stockpile of children鈥檚 literature for her future classroom.

鈥淢y research mentor gave me opportunities to push myself to do bigger things with my research, and that鈥檚 why I got to present it at a state conference,” Ragals said. “That was a very rewarding experience. I left it feeling very proud of myself, and I look back at it now and think I am a lot more capable than I thought I was. And I鈥檓 doing a lot more in my field than I ever thought that I could.鈥�

She is excited to carry these abroad experiences and knowledge learned to her post-graduate adventures. Following graduation, Ragals hopes to make meaningful change in the education system.

鈥淚 want to teach for a while and then go into the field of politics in education, or more analysis or research around educational systems, including global perspectives around them. I think that鈥檚 really interesting and important work,” said Ragals.

And without her scholarship, Ragals says she doesn’t know who she’d be or where.

“I was able to do all these incredible things that are included in the program so that I can now graduate and be a very confident and self-sufficient educator wherever I end up,” she said. “Without this scholarship, I don鈥檛 know if I would鈥檝e had enough confidence to stay in this field. It鈥檚 because of the donors that I can pursue something that I鈥檓 really passionate about with self-confidence.”

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福利亚洲国产精品 held its largest-ever Spring Undergraduate Research Forum on April 28, featuring 384 presentations, including 229 poster presentations, 155 oral presentations, and performances.

SURF Day is an annual event at the university, during which other campus activities are suspended to celebrate the academically centered creative endeavors and research efforts of Elon students. Undergraduate research is also one of the five Elon Experiences, which provides a natural extension of the work students do in the classroom and ensures that Elon graduates are prepared for both graduate school and careers.

鈥淪URF continues to be the flagship event for undergraduate research on campus,鈥� said Justin Clar, director of the undergraduate research program and associate professor of chemistry. 鈥淭he record number of submissions is evidence of not only student involvement, but the work of dedicated mentors committed to preparing students for future success.鈥�

Jen Hamel, associate director of undergraduate research and associate professor of biology, says putting together such a large event is a team effort.

“A lot of people work to make this day possible at Elon: our dedicated events and facilities staff, the Powell student workers, the faculty session moderators, abstract reviewers, and mentors and the Undergraduate Research team. And of course, the students work all year on their research and creative projects,” Hamel said.

Throughout the day, students gave poster presentations in three sessions held in Alumni Gym, with oral presentations held throughout campus. Emily Stuart 鈥�26, a professional writing and rhetoric major from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, was presenting for the first time at SURF. Her research focused on the perception of artificial intelligence integration in the digital marketing and communication workforce.

鈥淚 am a graduating senior, so I wanted to feel as prepared as possible for the workforce, and I do know that AI integration has become a major part of a lot of different fields,鈥� Stuart said. 鈥淚t felt like a really good way to tie it all together as part of my senior experience.鈥�

Stuart did a literature review and sent out a survey to Elon alumni to get their perspectives. She found alumni discussed similar benefits to AI, including helping with productivity, but also expressed concerns over the environment, job loss and data privacy.

鈥淭his is my capstone research, I have spent a lot of time on it, and it does feel good to have people come up and want to learn about my research and being interested in it. It鈥檚 been a really cool way to end my semester,鈥� she said.

While Stuart is capping off her Elon career with SURF, Chris Guider 鈥�29, a business analytics and economics double major from Holly Springs, North Carolina, is beginning his academic career at the annual event.

Guider鈥檚 project examines the effectiveness of the new NFL kickoff rules introduced in 2024. The changes, designed to improve player safety, created multiple 鈥渢ouchback鈥� scenarios, situations where the ball is placed at different yard lines depending on how a kickoff ends.

鈥淚t鈥檚 rewarding because there are a lot of skills I鈥檓 learning, like coding in R or being able to interpret data,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just reinforcing that I chose the right school because of the relationship I have with the professors I鈥檝e been able to work with here.鈥�

Students collaborate closely with faculty mentors throughout the research process鈥攁n aspect Abram Darby 鈥�26, a psychology major, especially appreciated while working with his mentor, Adi Wiezel, assistant professor of psychology.

鈥淪he鈥檚 very motivated, enthusiastic and outgoing. It was easy to get involved in the project,鈥� Darby said. 鈥淥ur lab environment is great, too.鈥�

Darby鈥檚 research examined how voters鈥� views on childcare policies might influence their preference for different types of political leaders鈥攕pecifically, a knowledgeable female leader versus a more dominant and threatening male leader.

Initial pilot data suggested a connection, but it was based on the 2016 presidential election, when the Democratic candidate was a woman and Democrats were already associated with childcare policies. To explore the idea further, Darby selected an election in which a Republican female candidate defeated a male Democratic candidate. He removed party identifiers and asked participants which candidate they preferred, along with their reasons.

鈥淲hat we found was among people who are motivated by childcare policies, when they perceive the female leader as being more prestigious than the male leader, they prefer them over the male leader significantly, suggesting that childcare policies may be a good proxy for who is going to win an election,鈥� Darby said.

Catherine Dierker 鈥�27, a history major with teaching licensure from Marietta, Georgia, also explored the political landscape, but in a different way. Her oral presentation focused on how educators can better prepare young people to participate in democracy. Her project examines effective practices in civics education, drawing from national and international data, teacher interviews and existing scholarship.

Mentored by Professor of Political Science and Public Policy Carrie Eaves, Dierker said the experience has been both academically rigorous and personally meaningful.

鈥淪he鈥檚 fantastic,鈥� said Dierker of Eaves. 鈥淚t鈥檚 those little connections that were nice to talk about and then really dive into the details of the research.鈥�

In addition to SURF, students also have the opportunity to present research during the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience in June/July.

This research has been supported by Elon鈥檚 Undergraduate Research Program (URP), including Grants-in-Aid support and Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) funds that supported the work of Charlotte Dagli 鈥�25, Ryder Hutchinson 鈥�28 and Alice Efremov 鈥�26, all of whom are co-authors on the research publication. Travel assistance for the conference was also provided by Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Biology Department Gift Fund.

Lab attendees included Ryder Hutchinson 鈥�28, Alice Efremov 鈥�26, Alex Roberts 鈥�27, Kalialani Choate 鈥�28 and Zach Stein 鈥�29. In addition to attending conference sessions and supporting the lab鈥檚 presentation, the trip served as the group鈥檚 first laboratory retreat, giving students an opportunity to strengthen connections as a research team through shared meals, informal mentoring and a visit to the Georgia Aquarium before returning to North Carolina.

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Nearly 400 福利亚洲国产精品 students will present their work at the Spring Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF) on April 28 in Alumni Gym and other locations across campus.聽With a total 384 presentations, this will be the largest SURF Day in the events 33 year history.

SURF Day is a time each year where the university suspends other campus activities to celebrate the academically centered creative endeavors and research efforts of Elon students. As one of the five Elon Experiences, undergraduate research is a highly valued part of the academic experience for Elon students.

SURF聽Day will open with a special College Coffee outside of Koury Center and Alumni Gym at 8:15 a.m.

Highlights for this聽SURF:聽

• A total of 384聽presentations,聽including 229聽poster presentations and 155聽oral presentations and performances
• Eighty-three presentations self-identified as projects related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
• Thirty-five presentations self-identified as projects related to sustainability
• One hundred and forty three presentations self-identified as data intensive projects
• An interdisciplinary symposium on 鈥淔rom Crawling to Coding: Embodiment and Learning in Babies and Robots”
• An interdisciplinary symposium on “American Studies Research鈥�
• A student panel on “A Periclean Journey: Rooted Locally, Reaching Globally Through Mutually Beneficial Partnerships and Community Engagement鈥�
• Five poster presentations by student groups from聽Walter M. Williams High School mentored by Elon faculty

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For Ryder Hutchinson ’28, impactful research was not something to be completed towards the end of his college experience. The nursing student began research on how to fight various cancers with different viruses after only his first semester at Elon.

鈥淲e use a type of virus that does a really good job at not killing your healthy cells but does a really good job at killing cancer cells,鈥� Hutchinson said. 鈥淭hey use this technique at clinical trials right now for common cancers such as breast and colon cancer in combination with chemotherapy drugs. But my big question was: what about the other cancers?鈥�

Hutchinson began this research with Efrain Rivera-Serrano, assistant professor of biology. While taking his cell biology course, Hutchinson began shadowing Rivera-Serrano weekly in the lab as he worked with other students on research projects. Hutchinson was then accepted by Rivera-Serrano as a research student, in addition to his acceptance into Elon鈥檚 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, where he stayed on campus over the summer of 2025 with a grant to continue research on the project.

Given his grandmother鈥檚 diagnosis of leukemia, Hutchinson was initially interested in exploring this specific type of cancer. However, given the difficulty in testing certain types of cancers, the pair compromised and used existing research and expanded upon it with Hutchinson鈥檚 desire to help cancer patients.

鈥淚t was a different way of using what he knows, with what I know, and making a really cool research project out of it,鈥� Hutchinson said.

When describing the various types of viral strings, Hutchinson compared them to 鈥減ersonalities,鈥� for the layman viewer of his project to understand.

鈥淭his one virus can have many different strings, or as I like to say, many different personalities,鈥� Hutchinson said. 鈥淎nd they鈥檙e using a specific string or specific personality in clinical trials, but there鈥檚 so many more out there. So, I did testing on 35 different strings and found that within the rare cancers I tested on, the one I found is different than the one in clinical trials, and it shows to be better at killing than the one鈥檚 they鈥檙e currently using.鈥�

During SURF Day on April 28, all other campus activities are suspended so the Elon community can come together around students鈥� creative endeavors and research efforts. Undergraduate research is also one of the five Elon Experiences, which provides a natural extension of the work students do in the classroom and ensures that Elon graduates are prepared for both graduate school and careers.

After he presents at SURF, Hutchinson plans on conducting more specific research to the field of nursing with chemotherapy patients at Cone Health hospital that align more closely with his goal of a profession in nursing.

In addition to his research project, he is in the process of receiving feedback for two professional articles: one of which he is publishing himself, and another in which he is the co-author.

鈥淚 have always wanted to have a purpose,鈥� Hutchinson said. 鈥淚 wanted to make an impact, and I feel like I鈥檓 slowly doing that, or headed in the right direction of making a difference or impact on people鈥檚 lives.鈥�

Elon students鈥� presentations spanned both the ages and the globe, with presentations ranging in focus from ancient Maya society to generative AI鈥檚 role in online public relations discourse, and spanning both the experiences of Syrian refugees and the indigenous politics of Peru.

The setting in Richmond offered a unique opportunity for mentor/mentee pair Amanda Kleintop, assistant professor of history, and Athena Vizuete ’26, a history major from Carrboro, North Carolina, who study Civil War history. In addition to presenting, they built in time to tour local historical sites that inform their research projects.

鈥淚t was amazing to see the quality of Elon鈥檚 undergraduate research in our students鈥� presentations,” said Kleintop. “I was very proud of Athena, who presented on her research on Reconstruction in North Carolina that was threeyears in the making! Plus, there nothing like visiting Richmond as a Civil War and Reconstruction scholar!”

“NCUR is a wonderful opportunity,” Vizuete said. “I am so happy I got to present my research on a national scale and attend so many fascinating presentations by my fellow students.”

Senior Professional Writing and Rhetoric major Caden Halberg is mentored by Travis Maynard and presented his work entitled, 鈥淭he Whey Forward: Successfully Advocating for the Galactosemia Community.鈥�

鈥淧resenting at NCUR allowed me to raise awareness about rare disease advocacy while connecting with students across disciplines, many of whom had never encountered this topic befor,” said Halberg.

Several students presented their work from the School of Communications. Senior strategic communications and public policy major Teresa Cao is mentored by Shanetta Pendleton, and presented her project entitled, 鈥淪orry, Not Sorry: Exploring Communication Patterns and Perceived Authenticity of Influencer Apologies on Social Media.鈥�

“NCUR was great because I loved being able to see the range of students and how the chose to pursue their interests,” said Cao. “It reinforced to me how there鈥檚 always something to learn or dig deeper into, and in my case, that was influencer apology videos. Pop culture is often a mirror to what’s happening in society on a broader scale, so I loved being able to share my insights on something that’s seemingly very superficial. It was also really encouraging to be around students from other disciplines since I got to hear their perspectives on my research, what they admired, and advice on how they’d do things differently.”

Students were accompanied by faculty members Eric Hall, Justin Clar, CJ Fleming, Jen Hamel, Amanda Kleintop and Judy Folmar. Folmar presented two mentor-led sessions accompanied by her research students in which they shared their research process with other student-mentor pairs.

NCUR was first held at the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 1987 and Elon students have been attending the conference since 1993. Elon typically has more than 40 students present at NCUR each year. Next year鈥檚 conference will be held April 12-14, 2027 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.