Milestones

Elmira College has released its Dean's List for Academic Achievement for the Winter 2011 term, which was from January through April.

The Dean's List recognizes students that have a grade point average of 3.6 or highter.

Alicia Hough, of Elba. Alicia is majoring in Business Administration and is the daughter of Valeria Moore and Albert Hough.

Alicca Vigneri, of Elba. Alicca is majoring in Business Administration and is the daughter of Phil and Janette Vigneri.

Matthew Gale, of Le Roy. Matthew is majoring in Childhood Education and Sociology and Anthropology and is the son of Mr. Christie and Mrs. Cynthia Gale.

Megan Lowe, of Le Roy. Megan is majoring in Adolescence Education: Mathematics and is the daughter of John and Lynda Lowe.

Elmira College, located in the Finger Lakes Region of beautiful, historic Upstate New York, is one of the great small colleges of the nation. To learn more about what Elmira College has to offer, navigate to www.elmira.edu or call 800-935-6472.

On the six year anniversary of her perfect game, Katie Brownell throws out the ceremonial first pitch at the Oakfield Little League baseball game between the Dodgers and the Athletics.  At the time, Katie was the only girl playing Little League baseball, she played for the Dogders .  This year, the only other girl to play, Hannah LaGrou will retire after playing on the Athletics for four years.  Since her perfect game, Katie has excelled in Soccer, Basketball and Softball.  When asked about the transtion to softball, Katie remarked that it took a while to adjust but now that she plays Varsity Softball at OACS, she loves it.

Two local Genesee Community College students were recently honored for their entries in the Annual Garfinkel Essay Contest. It's sponsored by the Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York.

GCC student Kevin Volk, of Batavia, was awarded Second Place for his essay, "A Brief Examination of the Difficulties in Finding Justice for the Victims of the Triangle Factory Fire, 1911."

Volk's essay points out the importance the 1911 Triangle Factory Fire had in New York State, and how this tragedy began the wheels of change to protect factory employees and improve working conditions.

His award-winning essay can be found on the following Historical Society of the Courts Web site: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/history/essay/2011/essay11.htm

Phyllis Washburn, of Le Roy, received an honorable mention.

The Historical Society of the Courts was chartered to preserve the legal history of New York state and foster understanding and public appreciation of court history.

Two women will be honored Monday at the annual meeting of the Mental Health Association in Genesee County, which is being held at Terry Hills Restaurant.

Award of Excellence -- Maryanne Arena, director of Fine and Performing Arts, Genesee Community College
 

Special Recognition Award -- Brenda Westhoven

The seasons in Western New York are not always cooperative, so you really need to be able to accept all four of them – when you can get them.  Because of this, I have a wide variety of hobbies that keep me busy throughout the year.  During the winter, I enjoy watching the Sabres play hockey and getting outdoors to go sledding on a steep hill, snowshoeing through a local park or even start the occasional snowball fight with my soon-to-be 5 year old niece.  In the fall, I enjoy taking long walks on leaf-covered country roads, taking a trip to the local orchard to pick a peck of apples or that perfectly round pumpkin, and watching Buffalo Bills football.  The spring brings out the kite-flyer in me and allows me to start up my two-mile a night walks around the block with my husband, preparing me for the upcoming warmer weather.  I like to do a lot of camping in the summer, aerobie tossing with friends and my casual 20 miles rides along the Erie Canal on my recumbent bicycle.  However, there is only one hobby that I can do year round, and it is one that I am very passionate about.  That hobby is geocaching.

I’m sure most of you have heard of geocaching, but you may not know what it is.  Geocaching is an outdoor, high-tech treasure hunt.  You go out into the world with a hand-held Global Positioning Satellite receiver, or GPSr for short, and find hidden containers called caches.  Once found, you make a trade of a small trinket and then log your find.  So, I would like to share with you some of my geocaching experiences.

I started caching in late July 2010 with my husband and we go by the caching name of “authorized users.”  To this date, we have found over 130 caches!  Included in that number are the caches we found to complete the Seaway Trail GeoTrail, which entailed a month and a half journey along the Great Lakes, from northwestern Pennsylvania to the Thousand Islands region of upstate New York.

If asked whether I prefer to cache in urban or rural areas, I would definitely tell you that I prefer to cache in rural areas.  The caches in rural areas require more hiking and really expand your mind to a much farther capacity for your search. 

One of our most favorite local caches is called “Bruce Wayne’s Lair” which is located near the old mining caves in Akron, NY.  We trudged through about two feet of snow for about an hour to get to this cache, mostly because we took a wrong turn, but it was the most fantastic location to visit.  Not only do the caves have a rich history, they also have, what I call, upside down icicles!

“Did You Say Ohio?” was a very fun multi-cache, putting a play on the town name of Akron.  This cache  took us to various historic buildings and businesses in Akron, NY.  I have lived in this area for over 15 years and had never visited the places I was taken on this cache.  This actually happens quite frequently, so I really appreciate the opportunities it give me to open up my eyes to the historic and natural places that are right in my own backyard.  Unfortunately, this cache has been archived.

After three days and a lot of research, I was able to figure out the riddle to the first part of a puzzle cache in Olcott, NY, called “She’s A Lady… Bug!”  The puzzle was actually a picture of several ladybugs with different patterns of spots on their backs.  To figure out the puzzle, you had to decrypt the pattern into a math problem to determine the coordinates of the final location of the cache.  I figured out the puzzle just as winter hit, and we only make it to Olcott during the warm months.  Once the weather breaks, we will conquer that cache!  I have a very special trinket of a wind-up ladybug that I plan to place in the cache once we find the final, in tribute of the complexity of the puzzle.

Also, we just recently experienced our first earthcache, which was in Akron Falls Park, and it was spectacular!  It took us to an overlook of one of the falls and we had to describe to the cache owner our experience at the location, how much water we thought was coming over the falls at the time of our visit and what the weather was like while there.

I could go on and on about my geocaching adventures and journeys, as I have become truly passionate about this hobby.  As a momentum, I like to keep a photo-journal of our finds, so that we can later reflect on the awesome adventures we have had, and even some funny blunders, that we have had while caching.  To keep up with the times, we just created a Twitter account so that our friends and family across the country can experience our journeys and finds with us in real-time.  We hope to have a webpage up for our family and friends to see our photo-journal, but that is still in the creativity stages. 

My niece loves to come with us and calls it “treasure hunting.” She does a really good job of watching out for the pirates who may want to steal the treasure.  I just think that everyone should experience this wonderful hobby – it is a great, fun and healthy pastime for people of all ages and lifestyles.

I would like to invite you to follow us on Twitter!  We can't explain everything about our experiences in only 140 characters, but you will at least know that we are out there and you can look up our detailed logs on www.geocaching.com after our posts.  Find us on Twitter as @authorizedusers (make sure it s all one word and plural!)

Also, feel free to check out our profile on www.geocaching.com.  If you do not have an account, it is absolutely free to sign up!

We hope to see you on the trails soon!  May you steer clear of muggles and be rich with cache! 

Todd Haight has been appointed general manager of Live Racing at Batavia Downs by the Board of Directors of Western Regional Off-Track Betting, a public benefit corporation that owns the Genesee County racetrack and casino.

Haight began his new duties this week and he replaces Michael D. Kane, who was recently appointed president and CEO of WROTB

In his previous position as promotion marketing specialist at The Downs, Haight served as track handicapper and television host. He also created and implemented racing promotions. He has been with the organization since 2002.

“I am very excited and grateful for this opportunity and the confidence shown in me by Chairman Richard Bianchi, the board of directors and Mike Kane,” Haight said. “I look forward to working with the racing staff and horsemen and continuing many of the great traditions for which Batavia Downs is known.”

Kane said: “Todd’s knowledge and experience in the horseracing industry and at Batavia Downs should serve him well in his new position.”

In addition to being America’s Oldest Lighted Harness Track, the facility at 8315 Park Road in Batavia is home to more than 600 of the most popular slots and the Grandstands Bar & Grille.

Batavia Downs’ 65th harness season begins July 25.

Several local residents are scheduled to complete their baccalaureate studies in May at SUNY Oswego.

The following local residents (with their academic major in parentheses) are eligible to participate in the graduation ceremonies:

Rebecca M. Lang, of Bartz Drive in Alexander, (public relations)

Lindsay A. Norton, of Gilhooly Road in Alexander, (zoology)

Amber M. Allenbrandt, of Wescott Road in Stafford, (elementary education -- cum laude)

Sarah E. Olear, of North Street in Le Roy, (zoology -- cum laude)

Kate E. Wilcox, of Craig Road in Pavilion, (marketing --- cum laude)

Students who graduate with honors are indicated by the traditional Latin phrases summa cum laude, with highest honor (grade averages of 3.8 to 4.0); magna cum laude, with great honor (grade averages of 3.6 to 3.79); and cum laude, with honor (grade averages of 3.30 to 3.59).

SUNY Oswego is a 150-year-old comprehensive college in the State University of New York system. It enrolls over 8,000 students in its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; School of Business; School of Communication, Media and the Arts; and School of Education.

The YWCA of Genesee County, Inc. and the Bank of Castile are pleased to announce the 2011 Honorees as Fabulous Females.

They are: Elisa Di Pietro, of Batavia, Michelle Fuller, of LeRoy, Jane Scott, of Stafford, and Dorothy Taylor, of Batavia.

The four women will be honored at the YWCA’s 13th annual Fabulous Females Luncheon on May 7 at Genesee Community College.

Tickets are $25 person. Reservations may be made by contacting the YWCA at (585) 343-5808.

Honorees are women selected from a pool of nominations based on their community, professional or personal achievements and association with YWCA. The selection committee was made up of a panel of past Fabulous Females award recipients and chaired by YWCA board member, Esther Leadley.

The following local residents were named to the Dean's List at Ithaca College for the fall 2010 semester.

James Earl, son of Carolyn Stegman, of Batavia, attends the college's Roy H. Park School of Communications.

Allyce Barron, daughter of Bruce and Marie Barron, of Le Roy, attends the college's School of Music.

Coeducational and nonsectarian, Ithaca College is a nationally recognized independent college of some 6,400 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. Located in Ithaca, it offers more than 100 degree programs.

Independent Living of Genesee Region (ILGR) has hired Susan Scutt as its new administrative assistant.

Scutt has previous experience as an office manager with the Genesee Council on Alcoholism in Batavia and has served as a secretary at the Health Association (Main Quest) in Rochester. She received her degree in Secretarial Science from Bryant & Stratton in 1997.

As administrative assistant of ILGR, Scutt will be responsible for assisting visitors to the center. In addition, she will assist the director with reports, bookkeeping, event planning and general office functions. Scutt is available to discuss center operations and share how ILGR can assist individuals with disabilities from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays, at (585) 815-8501, ext. 400.

Independent Living of Genesee Region (ILGR) is part of the WNY Independent Living, Inc., Family of Agencies. It is located at 113 Main St., Suite 5, in Batavia. It provides consumers of Genesee Region with the Four Core Services: Information & Referral; Peer Counseling; Independent Living Skills Training; and Individual and Community Advocacy.

Shayne Herold, of  Le Roy, NY, is a member of the men's baseball team at Ashland University. He is majoring in Sports Management.

He is the son of Tom and Kelly Herold of LeRoy.

The Ashland Eagles are coming off a strong 2010 season in which they finished with a 35-22 record and made it into the Midwest Regionals of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

The baseball Eagles are members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

For more information, including individual and team statistics, the game schedule and roster, go to: http://www.ashland.edu/athletics/M-Baseball/.

The team is coached by John Schaly.

Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) is a mid-sized, private institution that values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.

Jamie Bucciferro, daughter of Vincent and Cheryl Bucciferro, of Batavia, has graduated with a Master of Science degree from Ithaca College's School of Health Sciences and Human Performance.

Coeducational and nonsectarian, Ithaca College is a nationally recognized independent college of some 6,400 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. Located in Ithaca.

Jessica Ficarella took 2nd Place in the All-Around at the USAG Spring Graffiti Gymnastics Meet April 2nd in West Seneca.

Jessica, who is 10 years old, took 1st Place on vault, 3rd Place on the Uneven Bars and 2nd Place on the Floor Exercise -- earning her the overall 2nd Place finish. Jessica is a fifth-grader at Churchville-Chili Middle School and is a member of the Bright Raven Gymnastics Team which finished in 1st Place at the Graffiti meet.

She is the daughter of Nick and Nancy Ficarella of Churchville who own Ficarella's Pizzeria in Batavia.

Citizen soldier Robert Davis, of Le Roy, has reenlisted in the New York Army National Guard, continuing his commitment to serve his community, state and nation.

Major General Patrick A. Murphy, the Adjutant General, announced made the announcement.

Sergeant 1st Class Davis will continue his service with the Troop A 2-101 Cavalry (Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition).

"Over the past three years, the New York Army National Guard has come from far below authorized strength to 100-percent strength," Murphy said in remarks to the force. "Our priority is to provide ready forces for both state and federal missions and readiness starts with maintaining our strength.

"We have more than 16,000 men and women in the Army and Air National Guard with each individual member having an important role."

For more information about the New York Army National Guard, visit www.dmna.state.ny.us or www.1800goguard.com.

After receiving a record number of entries, the Alfred C. O'Connell Library at Genesee Community College has awarded prizes to seven student poets in its 10th Annual Student Poetry Contest.

Seventy-four poems from 38 poets were entered this year, making the largest number of poets and the biggest pool of poems to date.

First Prize went to Leanne Serrato for her work, "Wisdom of Water."

The award ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 21 in the Alfred C. O'Connell Library. Prizes will be awarded for first, second, third and fourth, as well as an award for a total body of work. This award highlights the poet whose submissions reflected overall high quality. Students were allowed to submit up to three poems.

In addition, two awards will be presented in the Math Poem category. Math faculty at Genesee offer extra credit to students who write a math-related poem and enter it in the contest.

Winners earn a certificate, a journal for future creative writing and are allowed to select an additional prize from an impressive group of gift certificates and prizes donated by local businesses and campus organizations.

This year the contest was supported by The Red Osier Landmark Restaurant, Darien Lake Theme Resort, Genesee Country Village and Museum, AVI Foodsystem, Inc., The Campus Shop, GCC Student Activities Office, and The New Courier.

First-prize winner Leanne Serrato is a nontraditional aged student at the college who has returned to GCC to further her education. She has already earned a BS degree in Zoology and a master's degree in Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Arizona State University. She aspires to enroll in GCC's Nursing program, building on her existing knowledge base.

"My ultimate goal is to combine nursing with my background in education," she said.

Leanne wrote "Wisdom of Water" in the '90s when she was taking a lot of science classes.

"I used to try to learn concepts such as chemical bonding in terms of human relationships to better understand them," she said. "This particular poem I wrote after becoming tired of hearing my friends constantly complain about unhealthy relationships they were in, yet they wouldn't change anything.

"One of my friends was actually planning her life around a guy she really didn't love and that inspired this poem."

All winning poets are listed below:

First Prize: Leanne Serrato -- "Wisdom of Water"

Second Prize: Laura Neri -- "Daddy"

Third Prize: Christina Mortellaro -- "Distortion"

Fourth Prize: Katie Clemm -- "Desire"

Body of Work Award: Jennifer Curry --  "Oh Baby, What Fools We have Been,"   "untitled," and  "Art in Me"

Math X: Shannon Mulrain -- "Numbers"

Math Y: Jade Scott -- "My Relationship with Math"

Here is the winning poem by Leanne Serrato.

"Wisdom of Water"

Do oxygen atoms sit around planning

their lives based on who they are next to (Carbon, Hydrogen etc)?

No.

If a couple of hydrogen atoms happen by,

oxygen-with its electronegative personality,

enters into a bond (short-lived as it may be)

with those Hydrogens

forming water

Is water forever?

No.

Does water think that now, since it is water, it better stay water?

No.

Throw in some heat-

get a little steam.

Drop the mercury-

get a crystal lattice.

That is the wisdom of water-

it knows when

it is time

to move on.

Today, Genesee Community College announced the Genesee County students who are among 612 on the Dean's List for the Fall 2010 semester. These students earned a quality point index (grade-point average) of 3.50-3.74.

The honorees, their hometowns and attendance status, are:

ALABAMA

Jake Nadolinski, full time

ALEXANDER

Daniel Dudek, part time

Sabrina Herman, full time

Clayton Miller, part time

Teresa Morris, full time

John Ognibene, full time

Laurie Schwab, part time

Cindy Schwartz, part time

Stacy Wirth, full time

Lacey Wolfley, full time

BASOM

Kassondra Conrad, full time

Andrew Greene, full time

Danielle Hirtzel, full time

Ely Winnie, part time

BATAVIA

Jenise Albert, part time

Valeria Antonetty, part time

Jessica Barone, full time

Christopher Blachowicz, full time

Ann Brade, part time

Alex Brasky, part time

Katherine Clemm, full time

Neil DeLillo, part time

Richard DelPlato, part time

Nicole DiSalvo, full time

Erin Dobbertin, full time

Melissa Dorman, full time

Ian Dries, full time

Delores Dyer, full time

Ashley Falcone, full time

Charles Ferraro, full time

Kaelie Grazioplene, full time

Rachel Guppenberger, full time

Kimberly Gutzmer, full time

Brett Hake, part time

Shauna Hutchinson, part time

Kimberly Ianita, full time

Jessica Jaszko, full time

Katie Kosciolek, part time

Gregory Kryman, full time

Jenna Lynn Leach, full time

Shelly Lopez, full time

Elizabeth Martin, full time

Emily Mott, full time

John Mullen, part time

Colleen O'Donnell, full time

Daniel Oquendo, full time

Joseph Pedro, full time

Theresa Pellegrino, part time

Joshua Que, full time

Meagan Roese, full time

Amy Roggow, part time

Erin Ruzzi, full time

Erin Schafer, part time

Joseph Schlossel, part time

James Schnellinger, part time

Amber Shea, full time

Trisha Smith, part time

Brian Sprague, full time

Kathryn Svensen, part time

Mark Temperato, part time

Wendy Walker, part time

Todd Warren, full time

Katelyn Wickson, part time

Caitlin Wilkinson, full time

Mercedes Wollek, full time

Cameron Wright, full time

BERGEN

Karen Beaney, part time

Ryan Chatham, full time

Carrie Cooper, part time

Samantha Elliott, full time

Amanda Heale, full time

Gary Heale, part time

Kelsey Hill, part time

Cynthia Mack, part time

Rebecca Mosher, full time

Tavy Shippers, part time

Ashley Spangenburg, part time

Miranda Tardy, full time

BYRON

Kevin Jackson, full time

Mark McLaughlin, full time

Timothy Nicholas, full time

CORFU

Eric Allen, full time

Shannon Bartlett, part time

John Bernardini, part time

Patrick Betz, full time

Stacy Brockway, part time

Joseph D'Amato, full time

Lisa Falkowski, part time

Melissa Gardner, full time

Jessica Gerould, full time

Ashley Ingram, full time

Jamie Johnson, full time

Tracy Kearney, full time

Victoria Rebmann, full time

Kara Rykert, full time

Ashlin Thuman, part time

Dana Wolbert, full time

DARIEN CENTER

Larissa DeMuth, part time

Abigail Engel, full time

Nadine McClurg, part time

Alexander Muench, full time

Rebecca Piechowiak, full time

Michelle Waldo, full time

EAST BETHANY

Sarah Baird, part time

Karen DeFelice, full time

Ian Lawson, part time

EAST PEMBROKE

Lucinda Barber, part time

ELBA

Michael Anauo, full time

Keenan Hughes, part time

Christopher Johnson, part time

Jeana Pfalzer, full time

Danyelle Scarborough, part time

LE ROY

Jennifer Beherns, part time

Joeylyn Berl, part time

Jacob Bortle, part time

Ashley Carney, part time

Jason Coniber, part time

Chad Cummings, part time

Margery Fitzsimmons, part time

Jamie Givens, part time

Bridget Grayson, part time

Anthony Macaluso, full time

Sharlene Majors, full time

Melissa Meadows, full time

Brenda Melton, full time

Caleb Nicodemus, full time

Joel Pitts, part time

Bethany Roth, full time

Katherine Stearns, part time

Jeremy Tiede, part time

Duane Weber, part time

Bradley Wight, part time

Sharon Wynn, full time

OAKFIELD

Kari Adams, full time

Amanda Bachorski, full time

Ariel Bentkowski, full time

Kristen Casper, full time

Julie Mendez, full time

Kendra Moak, full time

Sara Mooney, full time

Nathan Oaksford, part time

Veronica Rebert, full time

Maria Sanders, full time

Olivia Waldron, full time

PAVILION

Matthew Berkemeier, part time

Daniel Case, part time

Marie Hart, part time

Jeannie Kirch, part time

Brian Leach, full time

Emily Mess, full time

Julia Sallade, full time

Deborah Schroeder, full time

Peter Sherman, part time

James Smart, full time

STAFFORD

Amber Carmichael, part time

Jacob Cone, part time

Mark Williams, part time

Genesee Community College offers more than 60 academic programs and certificates, including the brand-new Veterinary Technology A.A.S. degree and Polysomnographic Technology A.A.S. degree, (the study of sleep disorders).

Genesee is accessible through seven campus locations throughout Western New York, as well as through online classes in the Distance Learning Program.

College housing is available at College Village, just a three-minute walk from the Batavia Campus. With small class sizes and state-of-the-art technology both inside and out of the classroom, Genesee Community College is known for being "high-tech" and "high-touch." Find out more at <http://www.genesee.edu >.

At a ceremony preceding the last lecture in the Civil War Lecture Series at Genesee Community College last week, the winners of the essay contest were announced to a packed audience.

Seven students were recognized for essays on the topic, "What did/does the Civil War mean for American Identity?"

At the event, instructor Derek Maxfield noted the fine quality of all of the entries. In fact, five of the entries garnered first-place votes. Students receiving honorable mention included: Nicholas Pitcher, Brady Hawkes, Gabe Necoechea and Jessica Hollister – all four are from North Star Christian Academy in Rochester. Third place went to Matthew Sisto, second place to John Cole – both also from North Star Christian Academy, and first place was awarded to Sarah Lawson. Lawson is a homeschooled student from the Batavia area.

GCC Bookstore Manager Christopher Sackett was on hand to make the awards. Sackett and Barnes & Noble Booksellers generously donated gift cards of $100 for the first-place winner, $50 cards for the second- and third-place winners, as well as water bottles with the GCC logo. In addition to the first three places, four honorable mentions were recognized.

"In short, we thoroughly enjoyed the series," Maxfield said. "The folks who attended were enthusiastic, well-read and eager for us to continue offering a lecture series of this kind. Many even asked for copies of the lectures, which we are looking into."

Barbara Pangrazio, the lead teacher for the Toddler Room at the Genesee Community College Association (GCCA) Child Care Center, has been awarded a Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential in recognition of outstanding work with young children.

While all child care center's staff are trained and supervised, the CDA Credential is a particularly prestigious award. It was given by the Council for Professional Recognition in Washington, D.C., an organization that represents the early childhood education profession.

CDA is one of the few national initiatives to improve early childhood education and care by evaluating and recognizing the skills of individual care givers, like Pangrazio, who provide exceptional care. The first credential was awarded more than 30 years ago, and now 49 states plus the District of Columbia include CDA in their childcare licensing regulations.

"Barbie is valuable asset to our center," said Staci Williams, director of GCCA Child Care Center. "I'm extremely proud of her hard work and her new credentials. Barbie, along with the rest of our staff, strongly believes in developing the skills that foster quality service and care for our children."

The GCCA Child Care Center offers complete childcare services for infants 6-weeks old to preschool-aged children. The fully renovated center has extensive developmental resources and introduces educational programs each day. Nutritious breakfasts, lunches and snacks are also provided along with safe, sleeping facilities for restful naptimes.

As part of the CDA assessment process, every candidate for the CDA Credential is observed working with young children or families by an early childhood professional. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the ability to work with families to develop children's physical and intellectual capabilities in a safe and healthy learning environment.

The Child Care Center is open to the public during fall, spring and summer semesters in tandem with the college's academic schedule. Priority availability is granted to the children of the students, staff and faculty.

For further information on CDA, contact the Council for Professional Recognition at 2460 16th St., NW, Washington DC 20009-3547, or call the council at (800) 424-4310.

Two students from Genesee County were among 3,000 undergraduates nationwide who presented the results of their research projects at the 25th annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research held at Ithaca College (March 31 to April 2).

Selection to the conference was competitive. Some 440 American colleges and universities were represented.

Megan Suttell, daughter of Oakfield residents John and Kathleen Suttell, presented "Privacy and Individual Rights to Freedom of Speech: A Battle in the Courtroom."

Allyce Barron, daughter of Le Roy residents Bruce and Marie Barron, presented "Chunking v. Immersion."

The undergraduate researchers presented work from a broad array of subject areas, including the humanities, social sciences and many professional fields as well as the fine and performing arts.

In addition to oral presentations and poster sessions, the conference included a visual arts component along with dance, drama/theater and music performances.

"The National Conference on Undergraduate Research is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity in all fields of study," said Thomas R. Rochon, president of Ithaca College.

"Welcoming presenters from all institutions of higher learning and from all corners of the academic curriculum, this annual conference celebrates undergraduate student achievement, provides models of exemplary research and scholarship, and helps improve the state of undergraduate education."