The 2026 Steven Galovich Memorial Student Symposium takes place on Tuesday, April 7.
The annual Student Symposium brings together all members of the Lake Forest College community for a day of scholarly and creative presentations, exhibits, debates, performances, and posters.
This is a festive occasion, and everyone is welcome!
Faculty, please encourage your students to attend.
Students, invite your classmates, friends, and family to attend in person or virtually via livestream.
Questions or inquiries can be directed to the Symposium Committee Co-Chairs, Anya Golovkova and Linh Pham.
2026 symposium program (pdf)
For those who cannot attend in person, livestreams of every panel and musical performance are available on this page.
Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, Family, and Friends,
Welcome to the 2026 Steven Galovich Memorial Student Symposium. I hope you are ready to witness the brilliance of our Lake Forest College community in action at this annual gathering which is a celebration of our students’ incredible achievements and talents. It will be a day filled with rich scholarly discussions, creative presentations, and musical performances.
The symposium highlights the very best of student research and creative work across disciplines. Undergraduate research is a significant academic initiative that makes the Lake Forest College experience so special, and we are proud to share students’ work with the entire College community and friends.
My sincere thanks to those who have worked tirelessly to make this year's Symposium an unforgettable experience. Your dedication and passion have truly made a difference.
Let's come together as one vibrant community and celebrate our accomplishments at Lake Forest College.
Warmly,
Tara Natarajan, Ph.D.
Krebs Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dean of the Faculty
Policy & People
Brown 252
9:00–10:20 a.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: Jim Marquardt
Presenters:
Theodore Puccini
Medhaansh Ghosh
Valeria Gómez Corzo
Patricia Sprenger
Livestream
Energy & Financial Markets
Brown 253
9:00–10:20 a.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: Muris Hadzic
Presenters:
One Kenosi, Seneme Mashaba, Artur Petrosyan
Oliver Francis
Zofia Marjanska
Ebtsam Abdelghani
Livestream
Inquiries in Biology, Medicine, and Predictability
Brown 254
9:00–10:20 a.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: Rebecca Delventhal
Presenters:
Olivia Pandazi
Inés Riojas
Salma Abdelkhalek
Alvaro Arroyo
Livestream
Power, Culture, and Global Order: East Asia in International Perspective
Brown 352
9:00–10:20 a.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: Shiwei Chen
Presenters:
Jacob Hayden Bennett
Donovan Dearmin
Sebastian Ellis
Livestream
Selections from Collage Magazine
Brown 353
9:00–10:20 a.m.
Abstracts
Moderators: Kyle Nicola Lee and Runtiah Qatami
Presenters:
Isable Yee, Maryja Dzemyachenka, Jesus Villagrana, Jonathan Luke Chao, Maggie Jane Fields, Emil Louis Jones, Lizi Sharadze, Daniel Eduardo Cano, Paola Giovanna Rosiles, René Aguilar Monge, Peter Piper Huizenga, Inessa Kaufman, Lexi Adams
Livestream
The Emotional, Social, Cognitive, Linguistic, and Civic Dimensions of Writing...
Brown 354
9:00–10:20 a.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: Daniel Henke
Presenters:
Sammie Ross, Jillian Beaster, Daniela Angel Vivas, Niousha Akbari, Jimena Angel
Livestream
Music intermission
Jude Prendergast and Bishrel Batzaya
Brown Hall lobby
10:20–10:40 a.m.
Developing Economies: Finance, Production, and Aid in Sub-Saharan Africa
Brown 252
10:40 a.m.–Noon
Abstracts
Moderator: Kent Grote
Presenters:
One Kenosi
Eliane d Fenita
Tiyandza Mngomezulu
Blen Seyfu
Livestream
Determining the Economy's Interest Rate: The Workings of the FOMC
Brown 253
10:40 a.m.–Noon
Abstracts
Moderator: Dimitra Papadovasilaki
Presenters:
Maria Gomez, Ignacio Pavon, Diya Mokha, Alejandro Erazo, Max Bertrand
Livestream
Curation & Creation with Artificial Intelligence
Brown 254
10:40 a.m.–Noon
Abstracts
Moderator: Kimiko Matsumura
Presenters:
Isis Correa
Millie Velez
Avanel Ford
Kelsey Elman
Sepehr Akbari
Livestream
Empire, Slavery, Freedom: Micro Histories of the United States in
1850
Brown 352
10:40 a.m.–Noon
Abstracts
Moderator: Rudi Batzell
Presenters:
Adriana Voloshchuk
Cas Badovinac
Alois Stevens
Nate Frank
Livestream
Horror, Society, and Agency in Literature & Theater
Brown 353
10:40 a.m.–Noon
Abstracts
Moderator: Ben Goluboff
Presenters:
Giovanni Bernardi
Mikayla Arenson
Sarah Faller
Sawyer Kuzma
Livestream
Social Science Research: Emotion, Bias, and Perception
Brown 354
10:40 a.m.–Noon
Abstracts
Moderator: Emily Dix
Presenters:
Margarida Carreira
Alyssa Dyson, Nicole Pido, Sarah Tahir, Sara Rush
Sarah Tahir
Giota Bouterakou
Jenna Rose Thomas
Livestream
Plant sale
Brown Hall lobby
Noon–1:00 p.m.
Undergraduate Student Journals and Periodicals
Brown 234
Noon–1:00 p.m.
Collage (multilingual literature and art) | Eukaryon (life sciences) | Inter-Text (social sciences and humanities) | The Stentor (newspaper) | Tusitala (literature and art)
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Latin American Studies
Brown 252
1:00–2:20 p.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: João Gregoire
Presenters:
Isabella Nuñez
Valeria Gómez Corzo
María Díaz
Medhaansh Ghosh
Livestream
Financial Research in Practice: Translating Academic Frameworks into Real-World Decision-Making
Brown 253
1:00–2:20 p.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: Nancy Tao
Presenters:
Georgios N. Giannopoulos
Ako Ogihara
Andiswa Mmema
Fareed Ghouse, Ryan Dousevicz, Parker Heves
Livestream
Ars Machina Vitae: Creating a Serious Game
Brown 254
1:00–2:20 p.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: Tracy Marie Taylor
Presenters:
Adnan Demirovic, Eliana Wolf, Milo Urban, Sammie Ross
Livestream
Comparative Perspectives on Democracy and Authoritarianism
Brown 352
1:00–2:20 p.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: Ajar Chekirova
Presenters:
Emília de Paula Fonseca
Dominik Datangel
Giota Bouterakou
Shellane Shettleworth
Min Thant Kyaw
Livestream
Ethics, Religion, and Humanity
Brown 353
1:00–2:20 p.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: Janet McCracken
Presenters:
Paige Humphrey
Arnav Bajpai
Mikayla Arenson
Kyle Moyo
Nancy Perez Salgado
Livestream
Black Resistance: Law, Literature, and Liberation
Brown 354
1:00–2:20 p.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: Aundrey Jones
Presenters:
Doyinsola Ogunshola
DeJanae Harges
Preye Indiamaowei
Livestream
Music intermission
Kiera McKee
Brown Hall lobby
2:40–4:00 p.m.
Culture, Illness, and Public Health in Latin America (Presentations in Spanish)
Brown 252
2:40–4:00 p.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: Marilén Loyola
Presenters:
Gabriel Calderón Flores
Thalía León Rodríguez
Mary Ann Andonova
Martín Ettlín Cuitiño
Livestream
Economics, Politics, & Society
Brown 253
2:40–4:00 p.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: Rob Lemke
Presenters:
Miriam Arnold-Nott
Austin Hewes
Judith Johnson
Anna Hoffman
Nicolle Sosa Diquez
Livestream
AI in Action: From Classrooms and Clinics to Campaigns and Markets
Brown 254
2:40–4:00 p.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: Sara Jamshidi
Presenters:
Sepehr Akbari
Christopher Zimbizi
Shellane Shettlesworth
Sakhile Mathunjwa
Sergei Vorobev
Aaron Oster
Livestream
State Violence & Its Victims: Perspectives from History, Literature & Politics
Brown 352
2:40–4:00 p.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: Tessa Sermet
Presenters:
Julieta Rodarte
Medhaansh Ghosh
Atlas Gregory
Livestream
A Showcase of New Student Plays
Brown 353
2:40–4:00 p.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: Chloe Johnston
Presenters:
Charleigh Justice
Tiyandza Mngomezulu
Livestream
Culture, Identity, and Community
Brown 354
2:40–4:00 p.m.
Abstracts
Moderator: Lia Alexopoulos
Presenters:
Andrea Sandolval-Torres
Kyle Nicola Lee
Holly Mulhall
Cordelia Wolf
Rene Garcia
Livestream
Choir performance
Durand Art Institute
4:30 p.m.
To the Mothers in Brazil
Ta Na Solbici
Blessing
Faculty sponsor: Anne Barry
Performers:
Lexi Adams, Walter Aldrich, Sardar Atayev, Emily Bailey, Bishrel Batzaya, Josh Bharadwaj, Tobi Ellis, Ryan Escobar, Sarah Faller, Gabe Fernandez-Tyson, Greg Hernandez, Catherine Holt, Cian Hyde, Peter Piper Huizenga, Sinduja Kaja, Louis Leone, Trinity Look, Maddie Mann, Arno Martiosyan, Joanna Nguyen, Kiera McKee, Abby Rice, Kate Taylor, Jaz Williams