SILVER CITY, NM—This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the WNMU Student Symposium, which was held Wednesday, December 4 and Thursday, December 5, 2024. The symposium, which provides a showcase for student academic and creative achievement, took place in the J. Cloyd Miller Library.

Occurring in conjunction with the symposium was a Career Expo that brought to campus a number of area employers. Students had an opportunity to learn about working for the various employers and about openings available.

The format for the symposium resembles an academic conference, with individual oral presentations, group presentations and panels, and a poster session, where students have a chance to talk with visitors about their projects. The keynote speakers for this year's symposium were Anais Orantez Middleton, president of MEChA, and Juanwon Anderson-Verdell, WNMU graduate student and Director of Student Life and Success.

Students presented on a wide variety of topics, ranging from experiences working with local non-profits to original research experiments on seed germination.

Accounting major Yoab Jaramillo, who worked with a group that volunteered with the High Desert Humane Society, said that the process of preparing for the symposium went smoothly. "We all worked together," he said of his team, "We brainstormed what we wanted to present and rehearsed our presentation."

Nursing students Angelica Gonzales and Erika Ramos were among the graduating nursing students that presented research in the form of a poster.

The poster assignment was designed to help prepare them to pass the NCLEX exam, which is a requirement to become licensed as a nurse, they explained. "Our professors paired us up based on what we scored the lowest in on the practice exam" said Gonzales.

Gonzales and Ramos took a multipronged approach to their research by exploring how to navigate Medicare as well examining evidence-based practices for managing increased intracranial pressure and for preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia.
Prior to the symposium, Gonzales and Ramos had a chance to present their poster in class to their fellow nursing students, so their classmates could learn from the research as well.

Teaching peers is a key part of the symposium experience said Professor Scott Fritz, who is one of the organizers of the event. Said Fritz, "It is a reflection of our university's mission, which is that of an applied liberal arts and sciences institution, where students are learning information in their classes. … But then to take what they are learning in their classes and apply it in the real world—particularly vis-à-vis teaching it to others—that is what takes this to a whole other level."