ASC students present work at symposium

An ASC student from an anatomy class explains a poster to some attendees at the June 28 symposium. Below, other students show and and explain their work. (photos by Alex Colletta ’18)

On Thursday, June 28, members of the Saint Michael’s community gathered in the Farrell Room to see presentations from students who participated the Accelerated Summer College (ASC). The symposium offered poster sessions, and close to twenty eager students highlighted work from their six weeks of summer learning.

After a brief welcome from Kellie Campbell, director of the ASC program, students spent the morning presenting their posters. Students and courses highlighted included media studies, journalism and digital arts Professor Jerry Swope’s MJD 215 Photography and Tourism class, who spent their six weeks developing visual storytelling skills, while focusing on nature, outdoor recreation, and tourism. As in years past, the class formed a partnership with the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing to create content for the state’s “251 Campaign.” Students presented a selection of photographs and the travel stories they wrote, photographed and designed in magazine format. Students worked in teams and highlighted the towns of Bolton, Jericho, Swanton, and Williston.

In BI 207 Human Anatomy and Physiology, students in biology Professor Paul Constantino’s class presented on topics from Common Ailments of the Eye to Epithelial Cells within Our Bodies. After displaying his project on The History and Function of Neuroglia, Neuroscience major Neil McClein ’19 said, “ASC was a lifesaver for me. I haven’t been able to complete this course with my busy schedule during the normal academic semesters, but I was able to completely immerse myself in the course for six weeks. I was able to put my whole focus on the course which allowed me to succeed.” A crowd favorite was Evan Lagerberg’s ’19 The Heart and its Circulation, for which Evan created a large diagram of the human heart and its vessels.

Finally, in Professor Gordon Glover’s AR 214 Animation and Motion Graphics class, students created animated presentations showcasing their digital image creation and manipulation skills. Students presented their video composites that are useful in web, television, gallery, mobile, and cinematic applications.

“The Accelerated Summer College would like to give special thanks for all students, faculty, and staff that helped make the first session of the program a big success,” said Campbell. The program is now preparing to welcome over 160 students to our second, fully online session, starting Monday, July 9.