Festival of Scholars celebrates 10th year
Variety of research, projects, creative works featured
Each of the about 350 scholarly projects reflects months or even years of focused work with faculty mentors.
Photo: Brian Stethem(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – April 6, 2016) The 10th Annual Festival of Scholars at California Lutheran University will showcase a range of work by undergraduate and graduate students and faculty from Monday, April 25, through Friday, April 29.
Research, creative work and projects that apply theory to real-life situations will be featured. Each of the about 350 scholarly projects reflects months or even years of focused work with faculty mentors.
For example, Elizabeth Averell, a Simi Valley resident earning a master’s degree in educational leadership, studied whether students view iPads as tools or toys. Crystal Guzman, an interdisciplinary education major from Santa Barbara, explored the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling in her study titled “Schoolwide Book Swap.” Dominic Lunde, a physics major from Thousand Oaks, focused on computer simulations of magnetic and nematic ordering in superconductors. Kristina Wright, a sociology major from Lewiston, researched the volunteer process in soup kitchens.
A student panel will share experiential learning projects in the Criminal Justice Department. Joshua Kraus of Phoenix worked with special agents and task force officers investigating arson and firearm crimes as an intern in the Detroit Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Ariana Sanchez of Moorpark and her Family Violence service-learning class partnered with The Coalition for Family Harmony and Homeboy Industries. Olivia Steinfeld of Simi Valley and her Criminology service-learning classmates researched college campus human-trafficking awareness and made recommendations to ZOE International for improving its campaign to end child trafficking. Kathleen Zapata of Thousand Oaks interned with the Camarillo Police Department with a focus on community policing.
Communication students will screen scenes from original films produced in the Advanced Cinema class. Political science professor Herb Gooch and psychology professor Marylie Gerson will examine terrorism through the The Joker and other characters in Christopher Nolan’s 2008 “The Dark Knight.”
English capstone students will deliver presentations including Bakersfield resident Jamie Wood’s take on cross-dressers as morally superior characters in Renaissance drama. Faculty members will summarize recent sabbatical projects.
For a complete schedule of events, go to CalLutheran.edu/fos. Cal Lutheran’s Office for Experiential Learning, Research and Faculty Development is presenting the free festival. For more information, call 805-493-3795.
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