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Port Day Goes Virtual

Student presentations are live on Blackboard December 2 and 3

University News | December 2, 2020

Today and tomorrow, the campus community is virtually engaged in Port Day, a signature Virginia Wesleyan event held near the end of each semester.

Port Day typically provides the opportunity to celebrate the academic achievements of students completing capstone undergraduate research, internship, and semester study-away experiences.

Coordinated by VWU’s Lighthouse: Center for Exploration & Discovery, the event is a premier initiative that reaffirms Virginia Wesleyan's commitment to academic excellence and student success.

This semester, because of restrictions and safety measures required during the COVID-19 pandemic, Port Day has gone virtual. Using Blackboard, VWU’s web-based learning management system, students are sharing their academic work through virtual, recorded presentations.

“The 2020 fall Port Day is a celebration of student work utilizing a virtual platform,” said Amy Rush, Executive Director of The Lighthouse: Center for Exploration and Discovery. “We wanted to find a way to showcase student achievement while allowing the campus community to interact with the presenters by asking questions. The interaction allows knowledge to grow, as the observers gain from the information shared and the presenters are able to reflect on the work they have completed.”

Student presenters represent each of Virginia Wesleyan's academic schools and a variety of majors and experiences on campus, in the community, and around the world.

For example, psychology and criminal justice major Nailah Alston-Iszard ’21 is presenting her research entitled, “Relationship Between Instructor Communication Styles, Students' Listening Styles, and Academic Self-Efficacy,” as part of the Birdsong School of Social Science.

Skyler Lattuca ’21, an earth and environmental sciences and sustainability management major, is presenting “The Race to Zero Waste: A Waste Management Analysis of Virginia Wesleyan University," one of two presentations the senior will share in the Joan P. Brock School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.

A complete list of student presenters by academic school is available here.

A distinct advantage of the recorded virtual presentations is that they are available to a wider segment of the campus community for a longer period of time. Participants joining in can ask questions while the presentations are live, December 2 and 3.

In addition, the Education Department Student Teacher Internship Panel will host a discussion on December 3 from 4 – 5 p.m.

To encourage participation and ensure that the event is campus-wide, professors include Port Day assignments for students in most classes.

Port Day brings together students, staff, and faculty from different majors and fields of interest to share their experiences and celebrate academia. Rush acknowledged that it took a team effort to successfully coordinate the virtual 2020 fall Port Day celebration of academic scholarship.

“I congratulate the students who were selected to present. In this difficult semester, it is no small achievement to deliver quality presentations. I thank the faculty who mentored the students, The Lighthouse team, Robin Takacs, and the students for the effort and enthusiasm employed to continue this important academic tradition.”  

 

Learn more about Port Day and The Lighthouse: Center for Exploration & Discovery.