The Fifth Annual CUNY BA Student Showcase
The President’s Conference Room (Suite 8201.01) on the eighth floor of the CUNY Graduate Center
May 10, 2024 from 1-3pm
Order of Events
Opening Remarks, 1 PM
Elizabeth Che, CUNY BA Graduate Fellow
Jody Clark Vaisman, Academic Director of CUNY BA
Presentations and Q&A, 1:10 PM
Aaron Kim, "Philosophy of Grief: The Role of a Sympathetic Other"
Sakshi Gondkar, "Detecting the Next Data Breach"
Queen Carrasco, "The Online/Offline Power of Activist Groups"
Emma DeGroff, "Activism in the Arts"
Yanniv Frank, "The Making of Boyish Charms"
Closing Remarks, 2:30 PM
Brian Peterson, Dean of CUNY BA
Elizabeth Che, CUNY BA Graduate Fellow
2024 Presenters
Queen Carrasco started the CUNYBA program in the Spring of 2023. A sophomore at The City College of New York, she is studying Social Data Science (and hoping to declare a second area of concentration in Curatorial Studies). Queen found that after majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Sociology, she wanted to combine the fields and approach data with a social science lens. After undergraduate school, she plans on continuing her education, earning a Ph.D. in Computational Social Science. Her presentation touches on digital activism, focusing specifically on the impact that activist groups have online vs offline, through their presence and activity.
Emma DeGroff is a senior from Hunter College with Areas of Concentration in Social Justice and Performing Arts. She has been an active CUNY BA member since 2022 and has been a Peer Mentor, Campus Ambassador, served as the Director of Communications for the Student Leadership Council, and has even appeared in some CUNY BA ad campaigns! Emma has a deep appreciation for the arts and has always been passionate about the importance of advocacy. Her research combines her two AOCs to examine how different genres of art go about creating activism. Emma would like to thank David Capps and Maura Donohue for their dedication to supporting all her research endeavors. Emma is currently a legal intern at DNIS Law Firm where she has been learning about Immigration Law; she plans on attending law school after graduation to continue her passion for advocacy!
Yanniv Frank is an artistic creative with a focus on telling elevating stories through puppetry. He holds an MFA in Puppet Arts from the University of Connecticut and a BA in Performing and Visual Arts from CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies (Macaulay @ Hunter home campus). Yanniv is the creator of Boyish Charms, a film that challenges and expands young audiences’ understanding of masculinity. He created the original stories and characters for Feel Your Best Self which took home the 2023 Kidscreen Award for Best Original Web/App Series. Yanniv is a Sesame Workshop-trained puppeteer and an alumnus of The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Puppetry Conference. Favorite performance credits include Sesame Street The Musical, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, Runaway Rue, Little Shop of Horrors, and Food For The Gods. @yannivfrank | www.yannivfrank.com
Sakshi Gondkar is a senior at CUNY BA with the home college of Baruch College. A notable honor she has received is placing second in the ISACA Cybersecurity Case Competition. She started at CUNY BA in the Spring 2024 semester with a concentration in business and computer science. Sakshi specializes in cybersecurity and data science because she is passionate about learning and applying emerging technologies. After College, Sakshi would like to get a master's in data science to further her knowledge and start a career in the tech industry as a data scientist or product manager. Sakshi worked on this project as a fellow of the Breakthrough Tech Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Fellowship at Cornell Tech. This presentation is about utilizing data to detect a company’s next data breach, harnessing artificial intelligence.
Aaron Kim is a first year student with a concentration on mind, reality, and mortality. His home college is Hunter and his faculty mentor is a City College Professor. He focuses on the philosophical concepts in psychology and within the sciences and plans to teach what he has learned in the future. His presentation will be an introduction into the philosophy of grief and will touch upon both the philosophy and the psychological concepts surrounding grief. He will also be presenting his contribution to two important questions surrounding grief: what is grief? How do we treat it?
What is the CUNY BA Student Showcase?
This event allows current CUNY BA students to showcase their work to the CUNY community. CUNY BA students explore a wide range of research interests, and together, their works represent a mosaic rarely found at the undergraduate level.
This event is also an essential professional development experience. Student presenters receive helpful support and practice sessions in preparation for the Showcase. The Showcase is a platform for students to share their work and offers a greater sense of community across the CUNY BA program.
Check out the recordings from previous CUNY BA Student Showcases on the CUNY BA Youtube channel.
Presenter FAQs
What type of project can I submit?
You can submit any project that you are working on—a research project, a performance piece, an art piece—as long as:
- You are a current CUNY BA student,
- The project is completed, or near completion, when you apply (so that it will be ready well enough in advance of the showcase),
- You can present it at the showcase in a brief period (5-10 minutes), and
- The project is supervised by a CUNY faculty member (not necessarily your CUNY BA mentor).
The format of your presentation can be tailored to your unique project as long as it can be presented briefly and online. Each presentation is followed by a few minutes of Q&A.
What is the deadline for applications to the Student Showcase, and who should I contact if I have questions?
The application deadline for the 2024 CUNY BA Student Showcase has passed. The 2025 deadline will be announced late in the Fall 2024 semester.
Please email the CUNY BA Fellows at fellows@cunyba.cuny.edu if you have questions about participating in the Showcase.
Where can I get support for my slides?
CUNY BA Fellows will work with all presenters to provide support and feedback on their slides. Presenters are encouraged to attend the Present Your Research (Public Speaking) Workshop. Attendees will be oriented on conference-style presentations and public speaking techniques and revise their conference slides with the assistance of CUNY BA Fellows. Showcase presenters are highly encouraged to bring a draft of their presentation slides for review and feedback.
Who should I contact if I have questions?
Email the CUNY BA Fellows at fellows@cunyba.cuny.edu with any questions or concerns regarding the Student Showcase. CUNY BA Fellows are available to assist you throughout the entire Showcase experience (e.g., help completing the application, creating slides, feedback on the presentation, etc.).
Past Showcase Projects
