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Two East Stroudsburg University students, Samantha Dietz and Alicia Kakakio, presented research to the university’s Council of Trustees during their April 25 meeting. The two students were chosen by ESU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Joanne Z. Bruno, J.D., from the 175 students that presented research at ESU’s annual Student Research and Creative Activity Symposium on April 10.

“Both projects show how everyone on our campus – administration, faculty, staff, and students – are thinking about the entirety of a student’s academic career,” said Bruno. “One student created animated shorts to show what college life is like for those teens and young adults who may be deciding if they want to go to college. The other student conducted data on the retention of students right here at ESU.”

Dietz, a senior majoring in integrated art+design from Johnstown, Pa., presented her research “Animated College Life: Characters Designed to Prepare You for What is to Come.” Dietz researched and designed three original character animations that could portray collegiate social and academic situations for those who haven’t yet experienced college firsthand. Final characters and future backgrounds were created on a Cintiq tablet with Adobe Photoshop. “Character style research, interviews with college students, and rough sketches helped me create the look and story of each character,” Dietz said. This project takes inspiration from coming-of-age storytelling rising up in children’s entertainment and gears it towards teens and young adults preparing to go to college. Dietz worked with faculty mentor, David Mazure, associate professor of art, on this project.

Kakakio, a senior majoring in mathematics from East Stroudsburg, Pa., presented “Retention at East Stroudsburg University.” Kakakio’s research project was her honor’s thesis. “I looked at retention within the residence halls, on-campus versus off-campus retention, and first-generation versus non-first-generation student retention,” Kakakio said. Using data obtained from Robert Smith, Ed.D., assistant vice president for institutional effectiveness, planning and assessment, she conducted data analysis to come up with her results. Kakakio worked with faculty mentor, Olivia Carducci, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics on this research.