ASMS Students Present Research at College English Association Conference in Atlanta

The ASMS Research Fellows Program naturally produces excellent student-led STEM projects, from computational investigations into solar flare patterns to experiments on practical uses of bioluminescent organic materials.

However, the program also boasts exceptional projects in the arts and humanities. In the past three years, ASMS Research Fellows involved in English and history projects have delivered papers at the Pop Culture Society Conference, the LSU English Graduate Student Association Conference, the Southern Studies Conference, and, most recently, the College English Association Conference. While it’s extremely rare for high school students to participate in academic gatherings like these, ASMS Research Fellows manage to do so regularly.

This March, two seniors in Dr. Mitch Frye’s video game studies project traveled to the 2024 College English Association Conference in Atlanta to present their research as part of a panel on innovative pedagogical methods. Sarah Hoke discussed the unique approach thatgamecompany’s Sky: Children of Light applies to limiting player communications and minimizing in-game toxicity. JaQuacia McClaney analyzed the use of the unreliable narrator trope in Supermassive Games’ The Quarry.

Sarah and JaQuacia presented their work to a room of college professors, instructors, and graduate students from around the nation. The panel was so popular that additional chairs had to be added, and the students received enthusiastic positive feedback on their work.

So, when you tally up the incredible strengths of the ASMS Research Fellows Program, be sure to include the arts and humanities in the calculation!