Community Networking Breakfast & Presentation of the Phi Beta Kappa Lifelong Learner Award
NAGANNA FORUM, ROJ STUDENT CENTER,
Community leaders and partners are invited to join McDaniel staff, faculty, and students for a networking breakfast to recognize the college's involvement in the region. The 2026 Delta of Maryland Lifelong Learner Award from the Phi Beta Kappa national honor society at McDaniel College will also be awarded to Steve Moore, owner of Westminster's specialty running store Run Moore.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM.
SC*101.
1889 World Exposition in Paris
Come stop by 1889 Paris! We will be holding the Annual Academic Salon exhibition as well as smaller exhibitions of avant-garde artists. Step into the late 19th century and see the art that was made during the time. Speak to artists and critics of the day!
Gretchen McKay, Ph.D. Professor, History & Art History; Justlove Alabi, junior, Sociology; Libby Burkhouse, junior, Elementary Education; William Canery, first-year, Environmental Studies; Lacey Dustin, senior, Art; Evie Eggers, first-year, Art; Darnell Gilliam, first-year, Accounting; Xander Hartman, first-year, Art; Kathleen Heard, senior, Art; August Jankowski, senior, Art; Kiersten Lang, senior, Art; Jonya Luckey, senior, Biology; Alice McMillen, sophomore, Biology; Aryeh Murphy, first-year, Physics; Cara Olson, senior, Art; Sid Poddar, sophomore, Biology; Kasey Reshnet, junior, Art; Cevin Slominski, junior, Art; Macaylinh Smith, sophomore, Biomedical Science; Kennedy Webster, senior, Political Science; and Amaya Wood, sophomore.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM.
HILL*101, HILL*LOBBY.
Discovering Paths Forward with Local Internships
Join us for a panel discussion showcasing professional development opportunities right near our campus. Hear from current students who have interned at local locations, discover how they contributed to our community, hear how their experiences shaped their perspectives, and gain valuable insights into how they are leveraging these experiences to accelerate their careers and make a difference.
Joanna Hamburg, Associate Director, Career Education & Design, student-led presentation.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM.
HILL*203.
McDaniel Community Poster Sessions
Browse original research from across the disciplines as the McDaniel community shares their work through interactive poster presentations. Stop by to explore their findings, ask questions, and engage in conversation with the researchers themselves.
View the full list of posters and presenters.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
BMC*CHURCH.
McDaniel Theatre Showcase
The cast of McDaniel College’s production of “9 to 5” returns to the stage to perform feature songs from Dolly Parton’s hit musical.
Miriam Sall, senior, American Sign Language; Delaney Goodwin, senior, Theatre Arts; Jaylin Smith, senior, Theatre Arts and English; Nicholas Ramirez, first-year, Early Childhood Education; Linda Brown, senior, Sociology and Theatre Arts; Thomas Jackson, sophomore, Psychology; Tate Roth, junior, Actuarial Science and Theatre Arts; Madi Wise, sophomore, American Sign Language; Nov O’Donnell, junior, Theatre Arts; Ave Maria Contreras, senior, Theatre Arts; Gray Wheatley, sophomore, English; Kaitlyn Rytter, first-year, Early Childhood Education and American Sign Language; Gabie Robinson, senior, Theatre Arts and Social Work; Uri Aguoru, first-year, Communication; Aedan Gannon, sophomore, Psychology; Abigail Russell, junior, Philosophy; Madison Ford, first-year, Biology; Kailey Young, senior, Health Sciences; Ryan Spartin, senior, History. Stage Managers: Maddie Mobley, senior,…
Monday, May 4, 2026, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM.
ALUM*MNST.
Philosophy Senior Capstone Presentations
Jj Abell, senior, Philosophy; Jasmine Artis, senior, Philosophy; Quira Bolling, senior, Business Administration and Philosophy; Iyanna Dangerfield, senior, Philosophy; Nadia Dennis, senior, Marketing and Philosophy; Page Felter, junior, Psychology and Philosophy; Madison Grace, senior, Philosophy; and Sophie Schwaab, junior, Psychology and Philosophy.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 9:00 AM – 11:15 AM.
HILL*108.
Chocolate, The Food of the Gods
Chocolate. There’s nothing else like it on the planet. Just saying the word chocolate evokes thoughts of deliciousness, sweetness, and irresistibility. No other food has the power to evoke emotions the way chocolate does. If you don’t think so, try giving someone a chicken as a gift on Valentine’s Day. In my talk, I will delve into the long history of chocolate, briefly discuss the role of chocolate in Mayan and Aztec cultures and religions, discuss the chemistry and health benefits of chocolate, explain how chocolate is made from scratch and share a few chocolate stories. In addition, I will provide various kinds of chocolate to taste.
Mohamed Esa, Professor and Food Studies Coordinator World Languages, Literatures, & Cultures.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM.
LIB*181.
Mentors Make an Impact in Experiential Learning
Mentors Make an Impact in Experiential Learning: The journey and successful pitches of the 2026 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Challenge First Place and People’s Choice Award Recipients,
The Entrepreneurship course in the Economics and Business Administration department, in collaboration with the Program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, provides an exciting real-world opportunity for students to pitch their innovative entrepreneurial business plan before a panel of guest judges, the college community, and the community-at-large. Through faculty-designed coursework and alumni mentor coaching, students are expertly guided on their journey from innovative ideas to ready-for-investor business plans. The teams awarded first place and People’s Choice will present highlights of their journeys and deliver their winning business pitches.
Students from the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Challenge winning teams.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM.
HILL*110.
Migration and Transculturation in Latin American Communities
Students will present their reflections on their summer student-faculty research project, in which they applied their prior knowledge about narrative agency, testimonial literature, and oral histories to practice, interviewing people in different parts of Latin America about the impact of migration and transculturation on their lives and cultural identities.
Xeina Ccallo Yanque, senior, International Business and Spanish; Nicole Córdoba Villarreal, senior, Political Science and Spanish; Alexa Mangandi, senior, Criminal Justice, Sociology, and Spanish; and Joseph Ratzel, senior, Spanish.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM.
HILL*104.
Recipe for a Cookbook: A Culinary Rhetoric
Dr. Champoux-Crowley and Re-Re Lowengrub present on their summer work on a book about cookbooks through the lenses of rhetoric, anthropology, and food studies.
Alexander John Champoux-Crowley, Lecturer, English, Director of First-Year Composition; and Re-Re Lowengrub, senior, Writing & Publishing.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM.
HILL*014.
Senior Capstone Presentation
Students display artwork in a variety of media that explores individual themes of their own choosing explored in their Advanced Studio Art and Graphic Design classes.
Camellia Codd, senior, Art; Alexandra Combass, senior, Art; Kate Heard, senior, Art; Cara Olson, senior, Art; Marissa Riddell, senior, Art and Environmental Studies; Abigail Rubin, senior, Art; Danielle Silva, senior, Art; Conny Spiess, senior, Art; Maya Stone, senior, Art; and Laura Vonella ’26, Art.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM.
PH*GAL.
Study Abroad: A World of Learning
A panel of McDaniel students who have studied abroad will share how they overcame their fears, faced challenges, and learned to thrive in new and unexpected circumstances.
Moderated by Assistant Director of International & Off-Campus Programs Kerriann Ring and featuring Study Abroad alumni.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM.
HILL*203.
“Shooting for the Stars, Together,” Keynote lunch & Speaker Presentation
NAGANNA FORUM, ROJ STUDENT CENTER,
Hear from McDaniel alum Cody Knipfer ’15, who is currently senior advisor for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Space Commerce. Knipfer graduated summa cum laude from McDaniel in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Studies and went on to earn a master’s degree in International Science and Technology Policy with a specialization in Space Policy from the George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute.
Advance registration is required for this event. Click here to register for the Keynote lunch & speaker presentation.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 11:30 AM – 12:45 PM.
SC*101.
Beyond the Objects: The Grammar of Things
Still-life painting is often thought of as the lowest genre in painting; it is the thing you paint when learning to paint. However, throughout art history, there are moments when still life takes center stage, such as the Dutch still-life painters in the 17th century and the Impressionist paintings in the 19th century, showing its versatility and importance. Still life can be used to show narrative, time, place, and identity. This summer research project focused on exploring how object selection, compositional conventions, materiality of media, and the use of value and color aid in delivering content and conveying stories implied in the objects artists may select to make paintings about.
The research began by reading “Looking at the Overlooked” by Norman Bryson. Bryson’s book looks at the origins of still life and moves through western art history up to cubism. While Bryson connects still life to the “low plane reality” of daily life through the objects presented on the tables in the paintings, it also…
Monday, May 4, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
HILL*221.
Chemistry Capstone Presentations
Join the Chemistry faculty and students as we celebrate the hard work of our graduating seniors with majors in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biomedical Science, and Health Science — Physician’s Assistant track. They will be presenting on their senior thesis projects covering a variety of chemistry sub-disciplines. The session will be moderated by Dr. Michael Polen.
Michael Polen, Ph.D. Senior Lecturer, Chemistry; Tyler Henry, senior, Biochemistry; Aurelie Kabengele-Tshing, senior, Health Sciences; Ingrid Mandala Kol, senior, Biochemistry and Biology; Briona Nash, senior, Biomedical Science; Sarah Oladeji, senior, Health Sciences; Whittney Patterson, senior, Health Sciences; Kate Principio, senior, Health Sciences; and Haley Thomas, senior, Health Sciences.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
HILL*108.
History Student Research: China, United States, South America, Ireland
This panel brings together five undergraduate research projects that examine a variety of topics spanning several continents. These include Chinese women's roles in English-language texts, representations of East Asia in the writings of American missionaries, the enslavement of Chinese laborers in South America, discrimination against German Americans during World War I, and Christian influences on Medieval Irish burial practices.
Maddie Principe, senior, Actuarial Science; Chris Cull, junior, Political Science and History; Emerson Alberti-Ramirez, junior, History and Spanish; Camden Groft, senior, History and Biology; and Fiona Casey, senior, History.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
HILL*014.
Reconstructing return-to-sport
Reconstructing return-to-sport: The benefits of assigning a retrospective self-narrative project to support injury recovery
The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the benefits of using a retrospective self-narrative research project as a mechanism to explore athletes’ lived experiences of returning to sport competition after recovering from multiple successive injuries. Many athletes struggle with the psychological and psychosocial factors associated with returning to sport, despite being physically cleared to play by sports medicine professionals. As part of the presentation, two student-athletes — Lily Hines and Caitlin Boden — will present the unique findings from their own self-narrative projects, and how engaging in the project assisted in their own injury recovery process. Many of the emergent themes from the self-narratives align with existing psychological response to sport injury models and affirm the importance of using athlete-centered care during recovery.
Lily Hines, senior,…
Monday, May 4, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
HILL*203.
Social Work Field Placements
Students will present information about their senior capstone projects, including information about the agencies where they completed their field placements, the work they performed, the experience they gained, and how the field placement furthered their education at McDaniel College.
Amanda Cullen, senior, Social Work; Cassidy Cashman, senior, Social Work; Daniella Defreitas-Delice, senior, Social Work; Eden Godin, senior, Social Work; Gabie Robinson, senior, Theatre Arts and Social Work; Heaven Gibson, senior, Social Work; Jay Artis, senior, Social Work; Kaitlyn Brodie, senior, Social Work; Kevin Sanon, senior, Social Work; Landen O?Quinn Oba, senior, Social Work; Luke Gore, senior, Social Work; Meira Colley, senior, Social Work; Nicki James, senior, Social Work; Niya Carroll, senior, Social Work; and Sara Parietti, senior, Social Work.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
HILL*110.
Student-Faculty Summer Research 2025 Presentation
“What's Your Jock Support?” Researchers will share their contributions to a database categorizing athlete politics in fair and ethical ways, so fans have dedicated information to help them understand what they are rooting for when supporting an athlete or team.
Christina Corbie, senior, Marketing; Lauren Green, junior, Business Administration; Lesrael Johnson, senior, Economics; and Jade Trader, junior, Writing & Publishing.
“’Twas the Night Before Solstice” Researchers will share an exploration of alternatives to the Christmas Industrial Complex — one that still has gifts and presents, but doesn’t have Santa Claus.
Wade Abrams, senior, Writing & Publishing; Lawrence Summerville, senior, Criminal Justice; and Katie Lookingbill, sophomore, Environmental Studies.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
HILL*104.
English Department
“Echoes of Peace in Shakespeare’s History Plays” by Eliza Nixon ’26, English,
Though Shakespeare’s English histories chronicle a series of civil and foreign wars, the language of peace echoes throughout them. His works in this genre account for approximately 250 of 550 total usages of the word “peace” and its variants. In many cases, Shakespeare recycles received wisdom about peace, including the influential writings of 16th-century humanists like Erasmus and Thomas More. In other passages, however, characters revise and challenge preconceived notions by discussing peace in surprising, even startling ways. This presentation focuses on student-faculty collaborative summer research conducted on this topic in 2025. It will introduce the larger project before focusing on alum Eliza Nixon’s experiences researching Renaissance plays that are less commonly read, watched, and studied at the college level. It will conclude by identifying the next steps in this research project, which explores the role that…
Monday, May 4, 2026, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
HILL*104.
Enhancing Student Learning Outcomes Through Applied Biomechanics Laboratory Innovation
This presentation outlines the development of a dedicated biomechanics laboratory supported by newly allocated departmental space and funding from the department and the Ira G. Zepp Teaching Enhancement Grant. The purpose of this initiative is to enhance instructional effectiveness through evidence-based equipment selection aligned with current biomechanics and sports medicine research. Relevant literature supports the use of real-time feedback systems, movement analysis tools, and applied assessment technologies to improve student engagement, skill acquisition, and clinical reasoning.
The proposed laboratory resources are designed to bridge theoretical biomechanics concepts with hands-on application, allowing students to visualize force production, joint mechanics, and movement patterns in meaningful ways. By integrating research-supported tools into laboratory instruction, this initiative aims to strengthen analytical competency, deepen conceptual understanding, and better prepare students for clinical…
Monday, May 4, 2026, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
HILL*203.
Generalizations of Waring's Problem (p=2)
Every positive integer can be written as a fixed number — called the Waring number — of k-th powers for every positive integer k have been studied in a variety of contexts from algebraic number fields to non-commutative groups. We will examine Waring numbers of p-adic rings: extensions of the integers with only one prime number, specifically when p=2.
Anthony Cerone, junior, Applied Mathematics; and Kenny Zeh-Ndelle, senior, Computer Science and Mathematics.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
HILL*014.
Growing More Than Gardens: The McDaniel Little Free Seed Library
Seed libraries are a growing movement that addresses food insecurity, biodiversity, and community empowerment by putting the seeds of production back into the hands of the people — for free! This presentation will share how Environmental Studies students, faculty, and community partners have worked together to launch the McDaniel Gardens Program’s Little Free Seed Library, creating unique learning opportunities while also aiming to change our local food system, one seed packet at a time.
Elly Engle, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Environmental Studies; Rena Bell, senior, Biology; and Kelly Durst, senior, Health Sciences.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
HILL*221.
Physics Senior Capstone Presentations
Physics with Engineering concentration majors will be delivering fifteen-minute oral presentations based on their Senior Capstone projects.
Aryan Ramkaran, senior, Physics-Engineering; Oscar Riggins, senior, Physics-Engineering; Mike Riley, senior, Physics-Engineering.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
HILL*110.
Jane Austen
“Jane Austen's Dark Secret: Unveiling ‘Mansfield Park’ as a Gothic Novel” by Ibby Morales Talero, senior, English,
Jane Austen’s novels are famous examples of literary realism, with showcases of astutely rendered detail and sharp wit that reflect Enlightenment-era faith in literature to reflect the world. In this presentation, however, I argue that Austen’s longest novel, “Mansfield Park,” is best understood within the gothic, rather than the strictly realist, literary tradition. Through the lens of the gothic, “Mansfield Park” is unveiled as a bold critique of early 19th-century Britain. Its elite characters are exposed as tyrants who collude in the corrosive social secret of colonial slavery, which makes their economic privilege possible.
“In Bloom with Austen: Love, Landscape, and Literature” by Ibby Morales Talero, senior, English,
Step into the rolling countryside of Regency England and explore how Jane Austen uses nature not just as a backdrop, but as a powerful storytelling tool. In this…
Monday, May 4, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
HILL*104.
Monuments and Memory: Designs by Students from HIS 3303
Students in Dr. Gretchen McKay’s seminar, Monuments and Memory, have worked all semester to propose and design a new monument for an event or person occurring in a Maryland county. Groups of three students will present their designs and explain why they chose to memorialize the event/person and unveil the plan for the monument.
Students in HIS3303 Monuments and Memory: Emerson Alberti-Ramirez, junior, History and Spanish; Delanie Burriss, junior, History; T’saun Carrington, sophomore, Computer Science; Alia Celly, sophomore, History; Kenneth Dempster, senior, Communication; Tommy Di Iaconi, junior, History; Jacob Gibson, junior, History; Melanie Haney, sophomore, Criminal Justice; Grace Howard, senior, Sociology; Shane Irwin, senior, History; Tana Kane, sophomore, Chemistry; Taylor Mead, junior, Biomedical Science; Josie Otremba, senior, History; Ruben Roca, sophomore, History; Ashley Shawyer, senior, History; Casper Speno, junior, History; and Alex Torasco, senior, Computer Science.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
HILL*110.
Student Presentations
“The Effect of Gender and Sexual Orientation on Juror Perceptions in Rape Trials” by Ashleigh Barnes, senior, Psychology,
The purpose of this research was to examine whether the gender and sexual orientation of the people involved in an alleged rape case might impact how jurors make decisions.
“The Use of Puerto Rican Sign Language (PRSL)” by Sabina Alvarez Prats, senior, Cinema and American Sign Language,
Puerto Rico, a small island in the Caribbean, has been colonized for centuries. Many have tried to erase language and culture, including Puerto Rican Sign Language or PRSL, which is what the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community has used for all these years, dating back to the 1900s. With 80% of the language being derived from the American version, Puerto Rico’s Deaf community fights to keep their culture and unique words. With its rich history and cultural significance, this language continues to struggle for survival. By preserving its influence and uniqueness, Puerto Rico fights and still makes…
Monday, May 4, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
HILL*203.
Windows and Shadows: What Building a Rootkit Teaches Us about Windows Security
After a cyberattack gains initial access, rootkits are one of the primary tools used to conceal the attacker’s continued presence in the compromised computers. This capstone presentation will walk through the process and journey of developing a rootkit for Microsoft Windows. Along the way, the presentation will introduce many aspects of how Windows handles security and how these security measures can be bypassed by an attacker once they have gained control of a system.
Liam Frederick Estell, senior, Computer Science and Political Science.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
HILL*014.
World Languages, Literatures, & Cultures
“The Influence of Arabic on the Formation of the Urdu as a Scholarly and Religious Language Language” by Sana Askari, senior, Political Science, Business Administration, Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies;
This presentation explores the important role the Arabic language played in the development of Urdu as a scholarly and religious language. It examines the historical background of Urdu’s formation, which emerged from the interaction of Persian with local Indian dialects following the arrival of Muslims on the Indian subcontinent. The session then discusses how Arabic influenced Urdu orthographically, lexically, and morphologically, as well as its broader impact on the culture and administration of the Delhi Sultanate. Additionally, Arabic shaped Urdu in religious and scholarly contexts, playing a crucial role in the formation of Muslim identity in the subcontinent, as Urdu became closely associated with that identity.
“Attention a Vendre : Advertising Compared Across French and American Cultural…
Monday, May 4, 2026, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
HILL*221.
Community Celebration and Awards Ceremony
Memorial Plaza (Red Square),
End the symposium in celebration with food, music, and fun! Several awards will also be given, including Audience Choice awards and the Steering Committee Award.
The Audience Choice awards are for student poster, student presentation, and faculty or staff presentation. The Steering Committee Award recognizes an exceptional presentation or project that embodies the spirit of the symposium, highlighting work that demonstrates intellectual rigor, originality, and a strong contribution to the academic and creative life of the McDaniel community, with particular attention to impact, innovation, and overall excellence.
(Rain location: Baker Memorial Chapel - Big Baker).
Monday, May 4, 2026, 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM.
GRND*MEMPLAZA.
A Cappella Ensemble Concert
The Green TerrorTones, McDaniel’s premier vocal ensemble, performs “storytelling” music by Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, and more, joined by the McDaniel Jazz Ensemble.
Under the direction of Kyle Engler, M.M. Senior Lecturer, Music.
Monday, May 4, 2026, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM.
LBC*CHAPEL.