Event features new partnership with local business organization
Grand Junction – The tenth annual Colorado Mesa University Student Showcase will be on Friday, April 19, starting at 1:15pm on CMU’s main campus. The showcase will feature hundreds of projects presented by CMU students in a diverse array of disciplines. Projects will be featured from both Colorado Mesa University and Western Colorado Community College students.
The showcase projects will include scholarly and creative activities ranging from artistic exhibits, paper presentations, posters, readings, demonstrations and performances. Dozens of judges, many of whom are community members, will evaluate the projects.
Robin Brown is Executive Director of the Grand Junction Economic Partnership and helped organize the community showcase volunteer judges.
“Placing GJEP business leaders with showcase sections was easy given the diversity of projects and presentations created by CMU students," said Brown. "There is literally something for everyone at the showcase and GJEP is proud to be an event partner this year."
Todd Ousley is a local physician assistant at Community Hospital and volunteered to serve as a community judge because of what he observes in CMU’s programing.
“The integrated approach CMU is implementing to build future health care capacity in our community is exciting for providers,” said Ousley. “The recent Master of Physician Assistant accreditation is just one example of growing health care-related credentials offered at CMU. As a showcase community volunteer I want to support these efforts through my time and sharing of knowledge.”
The event kick-off will occur at 1:15pm in the Love Recital Hall in the Moss Performing Arts Center with the theme of, “Stop, Collaborate and Listen” — a presentation about issues affecting mental health in the community. The event is sponsored by the CMU chapter of Alpha Chi, the National College Honor Society.
Changes to the 2019 Showcase include a new strategic effort with the Grand Junction Economic Partnership who will hold the organization’s annual western Colorado economic summit on campus the same day as showcase. Many of the summit attendees will also serve as showcase judges directly following the event. CMU President Tim Foster invited the organization to join the 2019 showcase to enhance interactions between students and their future employers.
“With so many business leaders already on campus for the economic summit, our faculty rightly recognized an opportunity to provide students a chance to learn from and interact with the community through their showcase projects,” said CMU President Tim Foster. “This year’s GJEP attendees include health care providers, environmental specialists, business owners, educators and a host of other artists and professionals."
Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs for Student and Faculty Success Aparna Palmer, PhD, is the director of the event and is excited about what the showcase offers both the student participants and community members.
“According to our Values Statement, an important part of what we want to do at CMU is to create ‘a learning environment that develops and promotes the skills of inquiry, reflection, critical thinking, problem-solving, innovation, teamwork and communication in our students,” said Palmer. “The CMU Student Showcase epitomizes our commitment to advancing the goal of creating such an environment and is a chance for students to share their accomplishments with one another and receive valuable feedback from and interaction with the community at large.”
Showcase highlights include:
- Bronze Pour Demonstration – This event occurs in the Fine Arts Building Foundry and features the ancient lost wax process that is still used today for sculptures, jewelry and other works of art. This bronze pour is at 3:15pm.
- Showcase Awards Ceremony – At 4:30pm in the Meyer Ballroom, winning projects will be featured and celebrated.
A complete list of student showcase projects and events are available and media and the public are encouraged to attend and see first-hand what the future of the community looks like reflected in the skills and talents of CMU students.
View the full listing of the projects as well as times and locations of the presentations.
The 2018 Student Showcase wrap-up video is below.