Jaida Gouldbourne, a junior in criminal justice, presented a poster analyzing the enslaved population of Amity Hall Plantation, Jamaica in 1820. In her presentation, she explained that her research aimed to "shift the story of enslavement from the white perpetrators to the men, women and children whose labor they purloined."

One aspect of her work was to identify enslaved people in Jamaica during 1820 and add them to enslave.org, where individuals can track their origins. She said this process provided her with the opportunity to give enslaved people their identities back, making sure they didn’t remain forgotten.  

"I focused so much on the Caribbean because my family is from Jamaica," Gouldbourne said. "So being able to connect that to myself, it just really holds a big place in my heart."

Another poster project, presented by statistics senior Isaac Maki, researched the correlation between cannabis use among Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals. Although he did not find a substantial correlation, he hopes to expand on this research in the future.

In an oral presentation, social relations and policy senior Ryan Longo explained his research into whether the historical and racist practice of redlining has created a disparity in Michigan public schools' food. Although he didn’t find a direct relation, he predicts that a larger sample size could reflect such disparity. 

"Identifying historical practice like this lays important context and can help us potentially identify and eliminate disparities for minorities in our public schools," Longo said.

Jasmine Zavala and Yasmen Alsuraimi, both seniors in social work, kicked off the second round of oral presentations. In their research, they examined the barriers first-generation students face as they transition to higher education. 

The two found that 27% of first generation students graduate with a bachelor’s degree in four years in comparison to 42% of students whose parents hold a degree, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. They spoke about the myriad of challenges these students face, including limited parent guidance in the application process and cultural obligations that cause stress and uncertainty.

After concluding their research, they offered ways to help mitigate these challenges. They stressed that providing parent sessions in multiple languages could be vital in ensuring that parents are engaged and understand the resources that are available.

Zavala and Alsuraimi decided to research this topic because of their personal experiences as first generation students, they said.  

"I've also shared a lot of the similar barriers that these students face," Zavala said. "I wanted to just raise awareness and advocate for first time students."

Maki, whose research looked at cannabis use, said the showcase wasn’t just important for the public, but also for the other presenters to learn from their peers.

"I think that this event showcases a lot of different interesting topics," Maki said. "I've been walking around and seeing things that are very different from mine, and it’s just a good way to learn about new things."