麻豆原创 Community College Showcases Student Innovation at First-Ever Student Showcase
麻豆原创 Community College marked an exciting milestone on May 6 with its first-ever Student Showcase, highlighting the depth of hands-on learning taking place across multiple academic programs.
The event brought together student work from Nursing, STEM, Student Leadership, and Humanities, offering the community a firsthand look at how classroom learning translates into real-world application. From research projects to leadership initiatives, the showcase demonstrated the college鈥檚 commitment to experiential learning tied directly to curriculum outcomes.
Hands-On Learning in Nursing
Among the featured presentations were projects from Nursing 4 students, including a research study led by student Madison Yoak and her group titled Nicotine Use Compared to ADHD Symptoms.
Yoak shared that the group spent the entire semester developing their project, initially using artificial intelligence tools to help generate their topic. According to Professor of Nursing Carla Lee, AI is intentionally incorporated into coursework in a controlled environment to help students learn how to use emerging tools responsibly.
鈥淲e had students use AI with this assignment, in a controlled setting, to prevent unauthorized use,鈥� Lee explained. 鈥淲e also have processes in place to ensure the research is truly the students鈥� work and not AI-generated.鈥�
Interestingly, Lee noted that the experience also highlighted some of the limitations of AI. Students found that many of the suggested topics and sources were outdated or overly common.
鈥淚n some cases, students realized AI wasn鈥檛 the most efficient tool,鈥� Lee said. 鈥淪everal of them mentioned they wished they had gone to the library or done their own research sooner, as it would have saved them time.鈥�
These research projects represent a portion of the students鈥� final grades, reinforcing both critical thinking and research skills essential to their future careers.
STEM Students Explore Advanced Research
The showcase also featured innovative work from STEM students, including a project on proteins presented by freshman Alexis Sagely and dual-enrolled high school student Justin Millemon.
Their research is part of an extracurricular opportunity within the STEM program, allowing students to go beyond standard coursework and engage in more advanced scientific study.
Sagely and Millemon are part of a larger research group led by Dr. Holmes through the Wyoming IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program. This initiative provides students with the opportunity to contribute to ongoing biomedical research while gaining valuable, hands-on experience in a collaborative environment.
The Student Showcase not only highlighted academic achievement but also hit on the importance of applied learning across disciplines. Whether through healthcare research, scientific exploration, leadership development, or humanities-based projects, students demonstrated the skills and knowledge they are building for their future careers.
As the first event of its kind, the showcase set the stage for what 麻豆原创 Community College hopes will become a continuing tradition鈥攐ne that celebrates student innovation, encourages exploration, and connects the campus with the broader community.
