JONESBORO – An Arkansas State University senior recently earned first place in the undergraduate paper category at the Southwestern Division of the American Association of Geographers (SWAAG) annual conference.
Jessica Harvey, an environmental science major and Honors College student from Lawton, Okla., presented her research project, titled “Mapping the Coral-Algae Transition Along Coconut Beach, Dominica.” The project, which she conducted over the summer with a team of other students, was awarded the top prize at the regional event, which includes geographers from Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Mexico.
“It was a huge accomplishment for not only me, but for the four other students who were part of the project,” Harvey said. “I take a lot of pride in being able to get our research recognized by professionals in the field, especially because we all worked so hard to get this research done.”
The summer research trip to Dominica, where Harvey’s fieldwork took place, marked the first initiative of its kind for Arkansas State, according to Dr. Jason Post, an assistant research professor of geography. Post noted how rewarding it has been to see students progress from designing the research to conducting fieldwork and presenting the final analysis at a professional event.
“This research trip not only attracted positive attention regionally but also highlighted the innovation and productivity of our program here at A-State,” Post said.
Another senior involved in the Dominica research, Zhoe Davis of Marion, also participated in the SWAAG conference. Davis, an animal science major, presented a poster on her own project stemming from the study-abroad trip. For both Harvey and Davis, this marked their first academic conference experience.
“This conference was a great opportunity to showcase our new Dominica study abroad program as well as the hard work of our students,” Post added. “It was meaningful to me as a professor to guide Jessica and Zhoe through this process.”
Harvey reflected on how the experience helped her grow personally and academically.
“I learned a lot of valuable things about myself, which helped me gain a lot of confidence as both a student and researcher,” she said. “I believe that is one of the most important skills you can have. I will never forget all the fun memories I made and the unique opportunities I got to experience abroad.”
Post emphasized the importance of continuing programs like the Dominica trip, citing the success of this initiative as a benchmark for the future.
“This conference really demonstrated the success of the program as a proof-of-concept and sets the bar very high for future iterations of the program,” Post said.