GSW students present research at annual Undergraduate Symposium

AMERICUS, Ga. (April 21, 2026) — Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) hosted its 8th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium featuring student research on topics such as biology, chemistry, communication, computer science, English, history, marketing, math, nursing, political science and psychology.

Nearly 70 students from a variety of majors and fields shared their research projects with oral presentations and poster presentations. The research projects provide an opportunity for students to actively collaborate with their professors and peers, investigating real-world challenges within their chosen fields of study.

“GSW’s Undergraduate Research Symposium continues to highlight the exceptional talent and dedication of our students as emerging scholars,” said Rachel Abbott, Ph.D., provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. “Each year, their work reflects not only a deep understanding of their disciplines, but also the confidence, communication skills and professionalism needed to succeed beyond the classroom. The level of scholarship on display is a direct result of their commitment to excellence and the meaningful mentorship provided by our faculty. This signature academic event remains one of the most impactful on our campus, offering students a transformative opportunity that prepares them for what’s next.”

The 2026 project award winners are:

Best Talk (Room 2410)

• 1^st Place: Delaney Thomas of Carrollton, Ga. for her talk “Validation of Pathogenic Germline Mutations in MSH6 Gene Associated with Colorectal Cancer Risk in Lynch Syndrome”
• 2^nd Place: Charles Hiatt of Blakely, Ga., Dominique Solomon of Washington, D.C. and Zackery Payne of Leesburg, Ga. for their talk “BirdDex: A Scalable Bird Identification and Data Modeling Platform”

Best Talk (Room 2413)

• 1^st Place: Demijanae Nurinda Aguilar of Dawson, Ga. for her talk “Synthesis of New Antibacterial Agents”
• 2^nd Place: Taylor Poe of Americus, Ga. for her talk “Growing into Adulthood: How ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ Teaches Children to Creatively and Critically Think” 

Best Talk (Room 2417)

• 1^st Place: Kristyn Griffin of Cordele, Ga. for her talk “Faith, Policy, and the Politics of Gambling: Religious Influence of Sports Betting Legalization in the United States”
• 2^nd Place: Ivey Knight of Leesburg, Ga., Christopher Hickman of Albany, Ga., and Olivia Henderson of Clarkston, Ga. for their talk “Graph-Based Attack Path Visualizer (GBAV)”

Poster Presentation

• 1^st Place: Hanae Colquitt of Ellaville, Ga. for her poster “The Effect of Self-Efficacy, Self-Esteem, Problematic Behavior, and Depression on Academic Aspirations and Achievement in College Students”
• 2^nd Place: Kenneth Daniels of Sylvester, Ga., Noah Bridges of Leesburg, Ga., Jesus Galvan of Desoto, Ga., Jillian Haddow of Sugar Hill, Ga., Owen Morey of Niceville, Fla., Kayden Poole of Ellaville, Ga., and Claudine Mae Rodriguez of Americus, Ga. for their poster “Crystallization of Copper(II) Sulfate in Various Organic Solvents”
• Provost’s Choice: Grayson Freeman of Leesburg, Ga. for his poster “Do Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) Show Food Preference in Southwest Georgia?”

The Symposium was organized by a faculty committee and sponsored by generous donations to the Student Success Fund of the GSW Foundation.