The Spire

Matt Nickerson ’24

Chief Features Editor

“As we’ve gotten older, it’s been really special to get more opportunities to see the work of our classmates, and get to see how smart everyone on campus is.”

So are the words of Kallie Poon ‘24, a senior chemistry major reflecting on the 2024 Academic Conference, mainly held on Wednesday, April 24th. Working with her research advisor, Professor Kenneth Mills, Kallie gave her presentation, “A spoonful of salt: salt dependent protein splicing in Halobacterium salinarum” bright and early at 9am in Smith Labs. Besides the Chemistry department, forty-five of the College’s departments, societies, programs, and clusters were represented by students at the Conference. According to the student index on the Google Site for this year’s Academic Conference, six hundred and twenty Crusaders presented throughout April 24th in the Anthony Fauci Science Complex; Hogan Campus Center; Stein, O’Kane, and Fenwick Halls, the Rehm and Dinand Libraries, and the Prior Performing Arts Center. Out of those six hundred and twenty students, approximately two hundred and seventy-seven of them were graduating seniors from the Class of 2024. For my final article as an editor of the Spire, I chose to interview several seniors who presented at the Conference and get their thoughts on how the Academic Conference closed out their four years of study on the Hill. 

The vast majority of students presented a thesis project that they have worked on for the entirety of the academic year. For example, students who are members of the English Honors Program have the option to write either a critical or a creative thesis during their senior year. “Over the course of the past year, we met every two weeks to peer review, discuss revision strategies, and practice presenting at the Academic Conference,” explains Ethan Peng ‘24, a member of the English Honor Society. Ethan chose to write a creative project, which he called “ABCs: American Born Chinese Stories,” twenty-six short stories, in alphabetical order, chronicling his life and experiences as a Chinese-American. Ethan was granted full creative authority, being able to make several illustrations along with the stories, and is very grateful for the opportunity to write stories that are so personal, as well as show his passion for drawing to a wider audience. “Besides the rest of our supportive English department, friends, family, and even professors from other departments came to hear about our theses,” he says. “Everyone did amazing with both their presentations and in answering questions presented by professors and peers. It was a satisfying end to our time at Holy Cross and a way for us to showcase what we’ve learned the past four years!”        

Many students also presented more than once through the day, some of them representing multiple departments and programs. Hannah Smyth ‘24 is a double major in Chemistry and Asian Studies, and presented for both departments at the Academic Conference. At 9am on Wednesday, she presented her year-long research “Synthesis and Optimization of Pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidines” which she conducted in the lab of Chemistry Professor Andre Isaacs. In her research, she focused on the creation of pyrimidine structures using copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). Later that afternoon, she presented her Asian Studies project, “Exploring Left and Right Confucianism and The Universal Declaration of Human Rights” in Hogan 402, in a symposium titled “Confucian Values and Human Rights” held by Professor May Sim. 

“I was definitely nervous going into the academic conference, considering I had presentations for both of my majors: Chemistry and Asian Studies,” confesses Hannah. “However, I felt well-prepared for both presentations. It was a great day: as a senior, it felt like a conclusion to all the research and hard work I had put into both majors during my time at Holy Cross. It was also great to have a more in-depth look into what my friends and peers have been working on, both within my own major and in different disciplines.”

David Brush ‘24 also had the unique experience of presenting a smaller class project, a poem, rather than a yearlong thesis or research project. David admits to having imposter syndrome, particularly as an English major who was invited to present at the Religious Studies panel alongside students sharing theses. He tells me, “It definitely felt different– I was pretty nervous at first, because I honestly didn’t think that my work was up to the standard of all the incredible students that were presenting. [But] it’s really a privilege to have been chosen…I took that as a good sign that my work was worthy of being up there, and I’m proud of that project. I think I wrote a good poem, and I’m glad that other people got a chance to hear it.” 

Although David did not expect to present at the Academic Conference until only a few short weeks before, he still thought it was a fantastic experience to share his work with so many students and faculty members, particularly “so many talented individuals who clearly put incredible amounts of time and effort into their presentations.” Overall, David adds, “I think that [the conference] is a great way to be able to see the fruits of my labor. It’s cool to see disciplines overlapping, because I’m an English major who got a poem selected to present at the Religious Studies conference. So it’s cool to see how my writing skill set can transfer into my religion classes, and that ability to utilize skills in many different fields and disciplines is something that will stay with me after my time at Holy Cross. It will hopefully ensure my success beyond graduation.”

The pressure and expectations of presenting a thesis project at the Conference is undoubtedly exponential, as relayed by Maya Krywda ‘24, a member of the College Honors Program. The College Honors Program is a substantial undertaking, which requires enrolling in two honors seminars, involvement in the honors colloquium, writing a thesis prospectus during one’s junior year, and penning a senior thesis. The Academic Conference is the final step of all of the hard work undertaken by College Honors students. Maya shares, “The thesis is pretty much the big project of being a part of the Honors College. We started kicking around ideas and making a plan starting junior year, but I had no idea how real it would become senior year! Something I really came to appreciate was the community of support that this program offers. Being in a program that encompasses a variety of majors and class years is something that I found very special and bonding. Everyone plays a part, whether it be timing, asking questions, or providing feedback at our practice presentation from the underclassmen, or from the shared stress and struggle of us seniors as we navigate the process together.” 

Maya, a double major in French and International Studies, presented a thesis titled “Japonisme in 19^th-century France.” Although the end result is impressive, the beginning of the process was rigorous, Maya says: “While writing a thesis seemed a bit daunting at first, especially when I realized that I couldn’t just pick anything, it was really cool to explore a subject I thought I already knew so well and discover a movement that I had no idea existed to push myself out of what I already knew. When I was doing my interview for the program in the fall of sophomore year, I said that I wanted to write my thesis on Japanese religion and attitude towards nature. When it came time to write my thesis however, I was told that it would be very difficult to get an advisor for the subject, as I was an International Studies and French major who had no formal education in anything Japanese. 

“I knew I needed major credit, an advisor, and wanted to somehow find a way to dig into Japan. [Being] creative, and doing some research to connect all these dots ended up being very rewarding. I ended up writing my thesis in French to get credit for my major, and wrote about Japonisme, a movement in 19th century France that allowed me to dive into something completely new and explore my interests in art history and Japan more formally, which I had really wanted to do. My writing ability in French certainly got much better, and learning how to write for this type of project was difficult, but ultimately something that I am proud to have done.”

Maya is thankful to reflect on her presentation at the Academic Conference, and is proud of the work she has produced. “I was the first student to write a thesis in a foreign language for the program, and got to cater the assignment to focus on things that I had always been fascinated by, but was not able to study, during my time here. I received lots of support and encouragement for my atypical experience. Professor Perry helped me adapt, and my advisor, Professor Burston, worked tirelessly with me to make sure everything was polished and guided me through the process of working on such an academic project that I was not as familiar with.

“The freedom I found in writing a thesis for the honor’s college is something that I am very thankful for. Having the opportunity to be curious and push intellectual boundaries, creating something interdisciplinary where I got to dig into various topics that were [exciting] to me is certainly unique to the program. Although I was nervous to present, I found comfort in reflecting on the fact that my advisor and the program guided me to the point where I really felt like I was an expert in the subject. It was overall a very immersive and fulfilling experience. I feel that my thesis is a rewarding conclusion to my time here at Holy Cross and helped me strengthen critical research, writing, and presentation skills that I know I will need for the rest of my life.”

Lastly, the Academic Conference has proven an opportunity for seniors to take their work off the Hill and into other exciting careers and opportunities. Damon Kruppa ‘24, an Economics major and Statistics minor, recently presented his thesis project, “The Impact of the Subminimum Wage on Individuals with Cognitive Disabilities,” to professionals at “Senior Policy Boot Camp of the National Down Syndrome Society Advocacy Conference in Washington, DC– just about a month before the Academic Conference. Damon’s participation in the DC Conference also included a visit to Capitol Hill to meet with congressmen and legislators to advocate for SSI reform. “I am in the Economic and Accounting Honors Program, where I took the opportunity to research a passion of mine, and used the tools of economics to derive results,” Damon tells me. “I combined what I learned in other classes to address the impact of the subminimum wage on individuals with cognitive disabilities– considering it from an economic standpoint, but also a humanistic one. On that line of thinking, it was very cool to collaborate not only with my thesis advisor [Professor Dan Schwab], but also various professors with different backgrounds and viewpoints. It was very nice to see them at the presentation, and I was very thankful for them and the crowd as a whole. Being able to write a thesis and present it at the Academic Conference helped with my decision to continue to work in the field of human services.”

As these accounts from just a handful of senior students show, the Academic Conference is an invaluable exercise. Although classes are interrupted, Crusaders are given the platform to connect across disciplines and demonstrate their intellectual growth and self-actualization over four years enrolled at the College of the Holy Cross. The school rightly takes pride in this annual scholarly tradition, and the class of 2024 is grateful for the opportunity to prove themselves as committed scholars before the end of their time as undergraduates in just a few short weeks.