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Fall 2019 exCITE Talks

Fall 2019 exCITE Talks FinalistsSeveral undergraduate students shared their summer co-curricular experiences at UH’s first ever exCITE Talks. In short, dynamic presentations, students highlighted the impact of co-curricular learning experiences like internships, learning abroad, service learning and undergraduate research. From a pool of 80 applicants, 11 students competed at the final competition on September 24, 2019.

Layla Hooshmand, senior mathematics major, took home the 1st place prize with her presentation, “Optimizing the Heart.” Through the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF), she had the opportunity to work on a research project where she used mathematical modeling to develop technology that will one day help doctors identify an unhealthy heart without invasive procedures. Link to video of Layla Hooshmand's presentation

 

Wasiq Javed, sophomore political science major, won the 2nd place prize with his presentation “Language: An Access to History, Culture, and Roots” on his learning abroad with a Critical Language Scholarship to learn Urdu, his ancestral language. Link to video of Wasiq Javed's presentation
Maham Gardezi, junior biomedical engineering major, placed 3rd with her presentation “Smart-Mind 2019” on her experience as an undergraduate researcher studying the impact of e-cigarettes on motivation at the University of Texas at El Paso. Link to video of Maham Gardezi's presentation
Chelsea Lawson, senior hotel and restaurant management major, took home the People’s Choice Award for her presentation “My Marriott Bonvoy Story” on her summer experience as a Loyalty Operations Intern. Link to video of Chelsea Lawson's exCITE Talks presentation

 The other finalists were

  • Christian Bernard Alarcon, senior biomedical engineering major, who presented his summer undergraduate research experience with SURF;
  • Queen Epomba, sophomore Chinese studies and public health double major, who shared her language acquisition internship at the University of Macau;
  • Mohammed Essa, junior mechanical engineering major, who presented “Google Hardware Product Spring,” his summer internship;
  • Jack Morillo, sophomore liberal studies major, who discussed the impact of leading Public Art Walks throgh a CITE-funded program;
  • Sangeetha Ranadeeve, junior supply chain management major, who shared how she applied a supply chain management lens to the issue of veterans and PTSD through SURF;
  • Jeane Rivera, junior anthropology major, who received a CITE Learning Abroad Scholarship to support her participation in the Health Service Learning Program in Jordan and
  • Victoria Rivera, junior computer science major, who discussed the impact of her summer internship with American Express.