Before seniors Ava Hall and Cameron Dupree graduate in May, they’ll have accomplished a significant feat. The two presented at the Honors Symposium sponsored by UNC Greensboro’s Lloyd International Honors College on March 20.
The hybrid conference requires students to compile research papers in any discipline but written for a general audience. Both Hall and Dupree are excited for the opportunity to present their research to non-experts and are in the process of rehearsing and receiving feedback.
The Art of the Written Word
An internship at the North Carolina Museum of Art inspired Hall to examine how the HIV/AIDS epidemic shaped the gay arts community in the United States. The studio art major was working on a pop-art exhibition, which included artists such as Andy Warhol and the group General Idea, who were active during the 1980s and ’90s.
That summer Faculty Emeritus Dr. Omar Ali suggested she conduct undergraduate research. Hall was already making connections between the art she was studying and the artists influential during the AIDS crisis. For her paper, “Silence = Death,” she evaluated how their work responded to the epidemic.
Hall’s paper emphasizes how artwork as a form of protest drew attention to the queer community and the epidemic at a time when both were stigmatized and even ignored by the Reagan administration. Hall presented slides of the artwork addressing how it functioned as activism.
“I’m definitely feel very proud of what I’ve done to get this far and by committing to a symposium, because it’s a little nerve-wracking at first to present your own research and your own ideas to an audience, but it’s a great opportunity,” says Hall. “It will make me feel more confident when other opportunities arise.”
Hall has been an Honors ambassador since her sophomore year and served as the committee chair of admissions events during her junior year. She cited her trip to Denmark, which expanded her “perspective on art, history, and culture,” as another consequential opportunity.
“I’m very grateful to the Honors College for creating opportunities for students to explore their interests through research and creative work,” says Hall. “If there’s any opportunity that’s available during your time at UNCG, I always say try and seize it. It will help you professionally grow into what you want to become and give you those next steps.”
Emphasizing the Importance of Good Communication
Like Hall, Dupree is an arts enthusiast, but biochemistry is his chosen professional path. He conducted a literature review resulting in a paper titled “Testosterone: Gender-affirming HRT for Transgender Men and Trans Masculine Non-Binary Individuals.”
“So, basically anybody who has a transgender identity and wants to go on hormone intervention to masculinize their appearance,” says Dupree.
Writing for his medicinal chemistry course, Dupree explored the development of testosterone formulations used in patients and how those came to be. He said it was a lot of “getting into the weeds” of the chemistry and biochemistry of how these drugs create the effects they do.
His desire to serve transgender patients as a physician assistant drew Dupree to the topic. “I think the transgender patient population deserves more support,” he said.
Once he graduates, he’ll apply to physician assistant school. In the meantime, he says his medical assistant and phlebotomy certifications will provide him with opportunities to work in a doctor’s office.
“Any public speaking experience is good and helping me improve my communication is important because obviously when I’m working in a medical setting, communication is the most important thing,” says Dupree. “Finding a way to gather ideas and present information clearly and concisely is really valuable.”
He’s enthusiastic about research because it allows one to apply class content to an area of interest or can pave the way for other undergraduate research opportunities.
“It also aids in general curiosity,” says Dupree “Being able to form questions and figure out the way to get answers, because it’s hard to formulate search queries and find the specific answer that you’re looking for. And sometimes you have a question, and you realize that nobody’s figured out the answer yet, and so it just becomes more fire to promote more research in the area as well.”
Dupree also enjoys Honors College book hikes and getting out in nature. In addition to reading and creating art, he’s a teaching assistant for Chem 101 and works drawing blood at North Carolina A&T State University for their research studies. He says studying abroad in Sweden was “the best opportunity that [he] ever seized!”
“The Honors College has been amazing! They’ve given me so much!”
Written by Alexis Richardson
Photography by Sean Norona
