GCSU held its 2025 campus-wide Research Day on April 16, consisting of a plethora of overlapping panels, oral presentations, poster presentations, screenings, receptions, exhibits and competitions. The two day-long event ran from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Research day is an event that offers students the opportunity to both share their research with their students and faculty and discover the research that their peers have been working on. All graduate and undergraduate students from across disciplines are invited to participate by submitting a proposal pertinent to their area of study.
Eowyn Agullo, a sophomore history major, along with her research partner Sherlyn Camacho Bustamante, a sophomore accounting major, presented “The Evolution of the Spanish Language in Mexico.”
The presentation was an analysis of the many factors that contributed to the evolution of the Spanish Language in Mexico, including the Spanish conquest, technology and political, social and economic factors. According to Agullo and Bustamante, there continue to be intercultural exchanges between indigenous languages, Spanish and English, which create a unique blend of languages that reflects a diverse history in Mexico.
The presentation of a topic revolving around the Spanish language and culture is a requirement for Spanish 3010 as a way to prepare Spanish majors for their capstone project. For Agullo, who is not a Spanish major, the purpose was to employ research strategies as an undergraduate student.
“If people choose to participate in Research Day, I encourage them to do so out of their own will and desire,” Agullo said. “I encourage them to have a passion for the topic they choose and to make consistent progress with the support of a mentor at every step.”
For Agullo, it was a challenge to present all of her research orally in a succinct fashion. She much prefers writing research papers, but she did enjoy the spectator aspect of Research Day, sitting in on presentations of the semester-long research projects of her peers.
Jyden Kypri, a sophomore chemistry major, presented on Research Day of his own volition. It was Kypri’s third time presenting, as he had previously shared research projects at the Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society and the Georgia Collegiate Honors Council.
Kypri’s research project, presented in poster form, was on the synthesis, characterization and bioactivity of Alloxan Benzylthiosemicarbazone (ALL-BTSC) on Human Topoisomerase IIa. In simple terms, the goal of Kypri’s research project was to see if a new molecular metal “taxi” could target and kill an enzyme that is hyperactive in cancer cells.
“I presented because it gave me a great place to share my research with my colleagues that have not seen it, as well as faculty that I have had for previous classes,” Kypri said. “It was great being next to my friends presenting!”
Alice Hughes, a junior sociology major, presented “Carmen Laforet’s Bypass of Francisco Franco’s Censorship.” It was her first time presenting on Research Day, but definitely not her last.
Hughes’ research examined authors like Carmen Laforet, who employed subtlety and ambiguity in their use of language in their published works to push back on censorship laws during the Francoist period. According to Hughes, the Francoist regime’s political platform in the 1930s-1970s attempted to establish cultural hegemony through censorship of media and those who fell outside of Franco’s status quo represented solidarity in the face of tyranny.
“I presented this topic because it is very relevant to our current political climate,” Hughes said. “I will definitely participate in the future. It is a great opportunity to share what you have been working on with fellow students.”
GCSU Research Day 2025 was an inspiring success, helping students to break out of their comfort zones and become more proficient in presenting the important research they put so much work into. Not only this, but Research Day was a chance to see what GCSU’s graduate and undergraduate classes have been working on and the results of their efforts.