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Effective Ways to Cope with Teacher Burnout

Elaine Coggins
Elaine's presentation will address the serious issue of burnout among teachers. She will discuss various causes of burnout, both personal and organizational, as well as ways to relieve and prevent burnout. This presentation is appropriate for teachers as well as any students who are interested in teaching as a career.

 

Pediatric Health Care with HIV Complicated Pregnancies

Ben Johnston
In his presentation, Ben discusses an important public health project relating to the difficulties associated with pregnancy and post-partum care of children with HIV+ parents. Information will focus on his personal experience working with HIV public health projects in Botswana and South Africa. Due to the length and depth of Ben's discussion, this presentation is best suited for long or double-period classes or special presentations.

 

Rhetoric and the Rhetorical Situation

James (J.P.) Maloney
J.P. Maloney gives some background on the nature of rhetoric and the rhetorical situation and how it plays a role in our lives. In his presentation, he critically engages contemporary written, spoken, and visual rhetoric, and discusses the place of rhetoric in pragmatic decision making in the postmodern age. 

 

Autism Awareness and Inclusive Classrooms

Margaret Van Wyk
Meg Van Wyk is presenting information about the autism spectrum disorder in order to raise awareness in high school environments. She will detail information about Autism and Aspergers, and address the importance of inclusive classrooms.

 

Advocates in Action:  The Skills Necessary to Become a Successful Attorney

Michael Blasie
In this presentation, Michael explains the skills necessary to become a successful attorney: specifically writing, reading comprehension, oral advocacy/public speaking, and interpersonal skills.  The presentation will focus on how these vital skills play a role in every attorney's life and how students can begin to develop these skills in high school and while in college.  Afterwards, he will field questions concerning the presentation as well as any general questions involving college, law school, attorneys, or the justice system. Given the vocational approach to this presentation, its target group is a self-selecting group of students who are interested in pursuing a career in the field of law, or for students who are involved in student groups centered on law, such as a Mock Trial Team.  Michael notes that the ideal venue for his presentation would be one where students could be excused from class to attend the presentation, but specific classes or groups may also invite him to speak during class time. 

 

Politics, Culture, and the Craic on the Border of Northern Ireland

Melissa Coffey
Melissa's presentation is a discussion of the month-long independent research project  she conducted in a Republican bar in Mullaghbawn, South Armagh. After giving a brief outline of the Troubles, her discussion will move on to discuss the lasting effects of the conflict on the border populations in Northern Ireland. She will discuss the research she conducted in the Republican bar and describe the culture that she encountered there –in terms of communication, relationships, music, and mentalities toward life.

 

Biochemistry: A Life Beyond the Test Tubes

Hilary Gamble
Hilary will outline and describe her two summers of biochemistry research at Hamilton College. The presentation will cover a variety of topics, ranging from the nuts and bolts of an experiment to her experience as a pre-med student, a chemistry major (Sol-Gel encapsulation and chloroplasts and enzymes is the focus of her past and present research, respectively), a two-sport varsity athlete, and a junior abroad student in St. Andrews, Scotland.

 

Democracy 101

Julianne Jaquith
As a World Politics major, Julianne spend a lot of time studying the concept of democracy as well as how it has been implemented across the world. However, the American public as a whole knows very little about democracy. Therefore, her goal in this presentation is to educate students about the basic foundations of democracy, offer some explanations for why people care so much about democracy, and elucidate some concepts and theories behind democracy promotion. Her hope is that students will find this interesting and that this presentation will help promote a more efficacious American public.

 

How to Successfully Transition from the High School to the College Environment with a Learning Disability

Tierney Rogers
Tierney's presentation will cover the basic differences between high school and college in terms of time differences and schedules, class and teacher expectations, and general academic responsibility. She will express the importance of self-advocacy for students with learning disabilities and provide them with information regarding the services and accommodations that are available for them to use in college. Finally, she will provide the students with organizational strategies to use both in and outside of the classroom to enable a well-rounded college experience. Throughout the presentation, Tierney will provide key information that can benefit both learning disabled and non-learning disabled students in a variety of ways. While Tierney's main audience is all of the learning disabled students in the junior and senior classes, her presentation will be helpful to all students.

 

Food Science: Adding Flavor to Your Everyday Chemistry!

Kristin Alongi
Kristin's presentation introduces students to the career of food science. She will explain the different disciplines of the science and then focus on food chemistry. With the students, Kristin will discuss the chemistry behind some favorite foods, such as cake and Coca Cola, and also what goes into creating certain flavors. Students will be exposed to some of the research currently involved in food science and also learn about the exciting opportunities this career has to offer.

 

A New Drug: Pet Therapy and Animal Assisted Therapy Enter Biomedical America

Colleen Granahan
Colleen's presentation seeks to uncover the psychological, physical, and social benefits of pet therapy and animal assisted therapy in the United States. She will focus on how pet therapy affects socio-emotional development in children, cardiac patients, and adults. While American society relies on technology and medicine, Colleen hopes to demonstrate the power of "man's best friend" --the dog-- and the connection between the body and the mind. Colleen will be abroad the Spring of 2007, but will be available to speak in the Fall of 2007.  

 

2008 Beijing Olympics and the Implications for China's Environmental Future

Katherine Kenney
In her presentation, Katherine will talk about the environmental problems in China, using the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing as a backdrop for what China can do to improve their environmental health situation. Air quality is one of the biggest concerns for the 2008 Games, and some athletes are concerned as to whether or not China will be able to reach World Health Organization standards for air quality in time for the Olympics. She will look at the magnitude of the problem, what the Beijing and Central Chinese governments are doing, and if the model used in Beijing might be implemented across China to address their growing environmental issues.  Katherine will be going to China for the Spring 2007 semester and the summer, so she will not be available until the Fall of 2007.

 

Oil in Africa: Blessing or Curse?

Ethan Shoemaker
Ethan's presentation examines the impact of oil wealth on democracy and economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, he will examine theories of the rentier-state (those which derive all or a substantial portion of their national revenues from the rent of indigenous resources to external clients), modernization, and repression in the Republic of the Congo-Brazzaville. His presentation explains how the "mixed-blessing" of oil windfalls actually impede development and democratization in African states beset by widespread poverty.

 

Leadership and You

Alexander Caruso
This presentation focuses on different aspects of leadership. Alexander starts with a clip from a popular movie, and asks students to analyze the ways leadership is presented. Then students will apply the leadership qualities just identified to a famous 20th century leader. Alexander's goal is to provide the students with an understanding of how they are leaders in their own lives and how to improve their leadership skills.

 

Not Just Another Gringa: Working with a Public Policy Organization in Mexico

Jessica Lewis
In this interactive, dialogue-based presentation, Jessica Lewis shares her experience working as an independent intern for CIDHAL (Communicacion, Intercambio y Desarrollo Humano en America Latina, translation: Communication, Exchange and Human Development in Latin America), a women's public policy organization in Cuernavaca, Mexico. She explores both the challenges and benefits of working as a gringa (American) within a foreign organization and shares the personal and professional development she made as a young researcher and future policy planner. Through her presentation, she encourages students to think of their own aspirations for future travel and to challenge the preconceptions they may have of the cultures they study. Jessica's presentation can be conducted in English or in Spanish.

 

Raman Spectroscopy:  A Novel Method of Gem Identification

Leanne Pasquini
Leanne will present both the chemistry and geology behind gem composition and formation.  This information will provide the necessary background knowledge for students to fully understand a spectrum produced by the Raman Spectrometer (an instrument used to measure the internal vibrations of a sample, in this case gems). Gems are identified as real and synthetic by the presence or absence of characteristic peaks in the spectra.

 

Manufacturing Luck: Making the Best Out of Lousy Times

Ross Ufberg 
In his presentation, Ross will discuss how to take failure and make the best out of it. Using his personal experiences as a background, he will talk about going after what you really want, persevering not just before, but after, rejection or defeat, and making your own opportunities where they don't currently exist.

 

Corrections: What Happens after the Conviction

Ashbel Wall
Ashbel's presentation examines what happens to convicted criminals in the American judicial system, while dispelling some of the myths created through popular culture. Starting with their sentencing, Ashbel follows four "criminals" convicted of crimes of varying degrees of seriousness through their stay in the correctional system. He will focus on how each "criminal" spends their time on a day to day basis, the steps they take towards rehab or rehabilitation, and the process by which they do (or do not) rejoin society.

Teacher Comments

"This Levitt Scholar modeled what good public speaking is all about. She knew her audience and engaged the students, all suffering from senioritis, in a lively, interactive discussion. Her program was wonderful -- both informative and entertaining!"  More ...