“I remember that one of the statistics was … women only constituted 5% of the CEOs in the Fortune 500 companies, and I feel like that’s very surprising,” Huang said. She also said she wanted to, "figure out if there are actually barriers to advancement for those two specific groups in organizations.”

First place for oral presentations was awarded to interdisciplinary humanities junior Triniti Watson, who examined how the MSU’s Multi-Racial Unity Living Experience-Intercultural Aid program, or MRULE-ICA, affects student understanding of inclusion and diversity. 

“I think it’s important just to set the tone of why the MRULE-ICA program is crucial in the dynamic of MSU,” Watson, who is an intercultural aid, said, "to have people from different tracts of life come together and have these impressionable dialogue conversations about the world around us and to understand the systemic natures of things.”

The winner in each category received a $300 prize. The top two presenters in preliminary research, projects that have not yet reached results, also received $300 prizes. 

Students showed their work to professors, who then determined the winners in each category. 

For poster presentations, second place was awarded to social work senior Sadie Shattuck for her work on the perceptions of low-income homeowners since the Great Recession. 

Third place was taken by history senior Victor Alberto Ruiz-Divas, who studied how redlining and racially restrictive covenants still impact urban public schools today. 

For oral presentations, second place was won by psychology junior Emily Saxon, who analyzed different sexual misconduct prevention strategies in place at American universities. 

Third place was taken by human biology sophomore Eliot Haddad, who looked at why small science labs have a difficult time securing funding. 

Psychology sophomore Justin Duby won a prize for his preliminary research on whether the number of diversity resources at an institution affects its perception amongst members of marginalized communities, as did hospitality business senior Olivia Orlando for her work on hospitality business students’ perception on women in the workplace.

“My research is on diversity in the workplace, specifically online recruitment, so seeing whether or not organizations without even realizing it can send out cues that may stimulate stereotypes or identity threats towards marginalized groups,” Duby said of his work. “I think it’s very important not only to increase productivity once somebody gets into the workplace but to make overall a more inclusive workplace.”

The event was hosted by the Honors College, the Undergraduate Research Office, and the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives.