Milligan University hosted its 13th annual Rise Above Conference on April 16.
Graduate and undergraduate students presented research from a variety of fields at the conference, centered on the theme “Attention and Distraction.”
The theme for this year’s conference was rooted in the idea that society competes for attention, from social media influencers offering lifestyle advice to networks breaking news constantly. Distraction is not a new issue, and controlling it often requires intentional effort.
Graduate student Kinley Cox studied the self-efficacy levels in helping skills, session management and counseling challenges of first- and second-year counselors in training.
“I was a part of the sample each time; I was able to look back at the data after and reflect back,” Cox said. “So if the helping skills were lower at midterm or if session management was lower at finals, I remember being able to look back at that time point and remember that in this class we just had this assignment, and it made us all feel confident in counseling. I was able to do that a lot within the research, which is really cool to be able to make those connections.”
More than 60 students gave 35 presentations in Derthick between 2 and 4 p.m.
“With Milligan Engineering, we’re not just a school where we do senior projects as a checkoff,” senior RJ Brumit said. Brumit, alongside his team members, created a sustainable, solar-powered heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system that will be used to help people control indoor climate in areas such as Piedras Negras, Mexico. “These are projects that really have an impact on the greater community and on the world. So we’re not doing a project here that is going to get thrown away or put in the bin.”
Dr. Michael Blouin, associate professor of English and humanities, concluded the conference with a presentation of his book, “The Political Poe,” which looks at the works of Edgar Allan Poe through a political lens.
“I would encourage students to make plans to present at our conference at least once before they graduate,” Director of Undergraduate Research Joy Drinnon said. “Every student, regardless of major, will complete a project of some kind that could be shared at the conference. Presenting is a really easy next step that looks great on a resume for employers and graduate school applications.”
Photo: Yard sign for the Rise Above Conference (By: Danielle Roberts)
