2015 symposium winners

What is truth? Students will give their answers to this question – and earn scholarships – at the next Gulf Coast Intercollegiate Consortium Academic Symposium April 21 at College of the Mainland. The event is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the COM Learning Resources Center Auditorium.

Students from Gulf Coast community colleges and universities will present projects in the fields of the arts, sciences, social sciences, math or technology. This year’s project range from “Should America Prohibit Marijuana?” to “Viruses: The Illusion and Overlooked Truth” to “The Dangerous Interrelation Between Pressure and Mental Illness in ‘A Beautiful Mind.’”

The symposium, now in its fifth year, allows students to present their original research and be mentored by the professor they choose. This year’s theme is “The Infinite Illusion, Disillusion and Promise of Truth.”

Louis Markos, professor of English and scholar in residence at Houston Baptist University, will present the keynote speech.

“We want students to create original, inquiry-driven projects that help them evaluate the relationship we have with ‘truth’ and its implications,” said co-chair Dalel Serda, COM English professor. “Our intention is to enable students and their supporters to think more deeply than we’re able to do in the classroom while sharing in formal and less formal networking opportunities.”

Students will present their conclusions and projects at the public symposium. An independent panel of judges will award scholarships to the top six projects. 

The Gulf Coast Intercollegiate Consortium is a partnership among the music and visual art departments of the 16 community colleges in the greater Texas area. The member colleges host events throughout the academic year that feature nationally and internationally known performing and visual artists. These opportunities enhance the academic experience for the students and allow them to develop professional practice. 

Learn more at www.com.edu/symposium.