Like any other college, Colorado Mesa University (CMU) boasts a diverse set of students interested in a variety of subjects and issues. Yet with each student focused on their busy schedules, there is rarely a time to learn much outside of their major.
Once a year, students are given the opportunity to share their knowledge and learn from others at CMU’s Student Showcase. Attendants will be able to learn through a variety of unique projects and presentations.
“So I have two projects, but…the main one that I’m focused on is for Rocky Mountain Manufacturing,” senior in mechanical engineering Dylan Ecker said, “It’s for my senior design project, and it’s a particle orientation device for their prosthetic ankle joint.”
The subject of these showcases varies wildly, as multiple majors at CMU are required to participate, but all exhibits have a strong focus.
“[My presentation] is about workplace violence in hospitals and changing the protocols for that as well as creating awareness,” senior in nursing Gabby Lansville said.
Aside from the information and entertainment of attending these showcases, Mavs wanting to see what their peers are doing can benefit in other ways.
“I think other CMU students should attend because they get to see what their peers are working on outside other majors,” Curtis said, “The cool thing about college is making friends outside your majors so that you can sometimes collaborate. For example, I tell the film and animation students to become friends with the music students, become friends with the theater department, because that’s who you’re gonna get to be in your movie as actors.”
While all of these showcases are interesting and informative to the general audience, students presenting often benefit just as much from the experience.
“It’s great practice for when they get into interviews, and they have to talk to people they’ve never seen before,” professor in digital film and animation Evan Curtis said, “It’s good practice for artists talks, when they have their work shown in a film festival or a gallery and they have to give an artist talk or participate in a Q&A. It’s just good practice for public speaking.”
Despite all these benefits, there are still ways in which the student showcase can improve, with presenting students hoping for more of an audience than usual this year.
“I think they should put all of us together because nobody came to our [showcases] other than health care people, but nobody from engineering or theater came,” Lansville said, “I think it’d be a good experience to teach people who don’t know about medicine because most of the time your patients don’t understand all the medical terms so it would be nice to have [the opportunity to teach.]
Regardless, the show will go on, and the Mavs presenting their showcases this year will be certain to inform, entertain and inspire. So be sure to attend this year’s Student Showcase on Friday, April 29th all day and throughout campus.
