Over 50 students from the College of Liberal Arts participated in the annual Graduate Student Showcase on November 11th, with many taking home awards. Take a look at a snapshot below of the amazing work our students showcased. Read more about the award winners here.

Realities and Resilience – Undocumented Life in Fort Collins, Colorado
by Nigel Dawson, Department of Anthropology
I am curious as to how under served and undocumented people navigate the complex institutional and governmental domains requisite for attaining social assistance. Through my research at The Family Center I explored the tangled web of available social services in the city of Fort Collins. I interviewed front line workers to gain their perspective on the internal contradictions inherent in providing social services to people legally marginalized by their immigration status. By doing so I discovered both inspiring solutions and frustrating complications inherent in the local systems of social assistance.

Pulsations: A Visual Arts Presentation
by Nuray Packard, M.F.A., Department of Art and Art History
In my drawings, I combine unfamiliar and familiar geometric forms in spontaneous ways to evoke my cultural identity and memory to explore the relationship with the places I have been seen. In my studies, I researched artists from the last one hundred years. They have shown me the appeal of looking to the past and offers new contemporary way as a source for inspiration. I am interested in drawing with magic water beads and aroma beads to capture fluid motion and energy; because It allows me to explore various creative materials and techniques to realize my creative vision.

52 Reasons Why to Hire Me: A Visual Arts Presentation
by Maggie Adams, M.F.A., Department of Art and Art History
In this competitive world we live in, we have to find a way to stand out, market our strengths, and grab the attention we have worked so hard to get. In my design, I strive to push the limits, think outside the norm, and explore outside the flat dimension. I needed an innovative resume to demonstrate my skills as an “anything but ordinary” graphic designer. My solution was to create a deck of cards showcasing 52 reasons why to hire me. This has gotten me the attention I was looking for from employers.

Duct Taping Mental Health – Maladaptive Simulacrum in ManTherapy Campaign
by Kalie McMonagle, Department of Communication Studies
In an attempt to reach the most suicidal of men, Colorado launched the ManTherapy campaign in 2012. The campaign told men that they couldn’t fix their mental health with duct tape and that grilling animal meat was just aromatherapy for men. What the campaign failed to address was the way in which creating a separate branding of therapy for men exerted stigma, power, and control over the way that women, queer, and people of color experience mental health problems. ManTherapy didn’t consider how medical insanity came to be. By ignoring its roots, tools for healing became simply tools of control.

Thorstein Veblen, Silicon Valley, and the Practicable Soviet of Technicians
Daniel Palmer, Department of Economics
Thorstein Veblen, writing in 1921, correctly predicted that the United States economy was not structured to have a revolutionary overturn. Rather, he envisioned an outcome in which technicians would begin to accumulate capital and themselves become what he termed “the captains of industry”. While this latter prediction may not have been true in its totality, capital accumulation by technicians has been apparent in the technological sector. This paper compares Veblen’s theoretical approach to the realities of the contemporary American technological sector, examining the hypothesis that a “practical soviet of technicians” exists today.

Which Reporting Verbs Characterize Successful Academic Writing? A Teacher’s Tool
John Whalen, Department of English
Text books for English as a Second Language vary widely on the reporting verbs that they choose to teach to students. Normally, those chosen are not justified according to research. This poster outlines a recent study that determined which reporting verbs are actually most characteristic to academia, as compared to spoken English and pop publications. For the first time, it offers teachers a definitive list of the reporting verbs most crucial for improving the academic writing of English language learners. The study was based off of a 300-million word body of academic texts, pop publications, and transcripts of spoken English.

Mentor the Garden Mentor: A Gardening Curriculum for Marginalized Populations
Monica Clark, Department of Ethnic Studies
Growing vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers is enjoying a renaissance. We want to eat fresh food because it tastes good and it is good for us. Not everyone has the same access to fresh food, or the means to grow it. Often the people who need to eat better are excluded from the fresh food conversation inadvertently or deliberately. This project and gardening curriculum are based on that premise. The Mentor the Garden Mentor Gardening curriculum is designed to close the gaps that marginalized people experience and teach them how to build a garden and grow food.

Evolution of Female Social Roles in Native Hawaiian Society
Hailey Groo, Department of History
In the nineteenth century, the traditional female Hawaiian social position was wildly transformed due to the arrival of Western men in the area. Examination of primary sources from the period revealed that the larger role of women in both Hawaiian social classes was an essential contribution factor to the modification and eventual dissolution of the native power structure. History is most often told through a male lens, but this research reveals that the drastic cultural change during the nineteenth century was a product of female actions.

Pin It: Tech Advancements Increase Need for DIY Design App
By Leah Stone, Department of Journalism and Media Communication
Social media sites, Houzz and Pinterest, show homeowners are interested in Do-It-Yourself (DIY) home projects and find design inspirations browsing the internet. Current real estate research shows DIY home improvement market strongly parallels the housing market. The real estate industry is currently trending upwards; therefore, DIY home renovations are trending upwards. Through content analysis, surveys, and interviews a design app was created. Mint Designs Curb Appeal allows consumers to take a photo of the exterior of their home and utilize specific house templates integrated in the app to demonstrate how their specific house exterior could look based on personal style preferences.

Lone Wolf
A Performing Arts Presentation by Lara Mitofsky Neuss, Bass Clarinet, M.M. Music, School of Music, Theatre and Dance
I am the Lone Wolf. On my own and free to share with the students at CSU what it’s like to be a fiercely independent and sensitive mammal. Listen as I share with you all that we have in common. I am also Lara Mitofsky Neuss, a graduate clarinet performance major at CSU. I study mindfulness, am certified in Reiki, and I have a strong emotional connection to non-human mammals. Journey with me for a peek inside my world as I show you how I, the Lone Wolf, think, dream, and experience the world that we share.