Even though Appalachian’s annual Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors was cancelled due to COVID-19, we can still enjoy a retrospective video of the past celebrations. Dr. Geri Miller, professor in the Reich College of Education’s (RCOE) Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling (HPC), and her students have been participating in the event for over 20 years, and they have captured a time capsule video of their participation through the years.
The impetus of this video project came at the 2018 event when Miller realized she had pictures of all the state and national counseling presentations she/colleagues/students had presented at the Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors since 1998. “I was a historian of research day,” she exclaimed.
Once Miller realized what she had, what she wanted to do is to capture this history for the Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program, the HPC department, the Cratis D. Williams Graduate School, and the Office of Student Research.
“I believe that research is an important part of my graduate experience because I can invest my time in researching the topics that I am passionate about and expand my knowledge,” said Cole.
One of her graduate assistants, Kirsten Cole, assisted in pulling pictures from Miller’s photo album archives and matching them with the various presentations. She did this work in collaboration with two other CMHC graduate students: Emily Proctor and Kaitlin Clancy. They all worked together on the project, and after Proctor and Clancy graduated, Cole was the final organizer of the project. She worked in collaboration with Will Strickland, who worked with the RCOE Digital Learning Resources. As part of the Founder’s Day 2019 focus on the history of Appalachian, Cole presented the four-minute video compilation. Watch the video.
The Celebration showcases meaningful research and creative activities in all disciplines by undergraduates and graduate students at Appalachian. Miller has mentored at least one student every year since the early days beginning of the research day event. Her students also present with her at various conferences.
“Participating in research shows a commitment beyond the classroom because such involvement demonstrates that the student presenting the research/theoretical perspectives gave time, energy, and money to a professional endeavor,” said Miller. “Which in turn, helps students get jobs and get into doctoral programs.”
“I believe that research is an important part of my graduate experience because I can invest my time in researching the topics that I am passionate about and expand my knowledge,” said Cole. “The substance abuse population is my chosen field so working under Dr. Geri Miller, who is an addictions professional, is very beneficial to me as a graduate student and counselor in training because of her wealth of knowledge and dedication to the field.”
About Student Research at Appalachian
Appalachian encourages student research, which gives the opportunity to work side by side with professors on meaningful research or creative endeavors and then present findings at regional, national and international conferences. Students who understand how discoveries are made in their chosen fields are well prepared to address the unsolved problems of the future. The Office of Student Research (OSR) was established in 2005 to expand the opportunities, including financial support, for undergraduate and graduate students to engage in research and mentored scholarship at Appalachian. Learn more at the Office of Student Research.
The 24th Annual Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors will be held on Thursday, April 15, 2021.
Kirsten Cole presents the research video
