What it’s like to present at the Mount David Summit

This past weekend was the much anticipated Mount David Summit. From a student’s perspective, the Summit is simply a time when senior natural science majors present their research that they completed in their senior thesis (a requirement for graduation). Along with that, some other non-senior present various kinds of research that they have done either abroad, over the summer, or for a class. Usually, the chosen medium is a poster. These posters are all made by the students on a software called Adobe InDesign and print in large format by the school. Some honors candidates present their research in a lecture given via Power Point.

As neither a senior or a natural science major, some found it odd that I was asked to present research. But really it was no random pick. I was asked to present the research that I had done this past summer as part of a research-study grant I had received from Bates College. The Asian Studies Department had chosen, in the spring of my sophomore year, to sponsor a research proposal that I had created. This enabled me to spend all of last summer in India studying Buddhist and Hindu meditative practices in monasteries and retreat centers from the Himalayas to the flowing Ganges. It was a once in a life time experience. I felt not only obligated to share my findings, but excited to talk about all that I had learned.

All of my friends who also presented their research agree with me. Presenting at the Mount David Summit is a blast. You get to talk about all the things you have learned to love at Bates, and share that experience with a large audience. You also get to make a really cool poster which is a refreshing final product if you have only ever seen research in the form of essays and papers.

It’s also fun to get lost in the chaos of the Summit. It was lots of fun to learn about what my friends have been doing during all those long after noons when they were in the Carnegie Science building, or Dana Lab doing their research.

-Graham

Here are some pictures I found on the Bates website:

This is a picture they took of me presenting my poster. The brown necklace is a gift that a monk gave me after I lived with him for two weeks.

These are two of my buddies presenting. The guy on the left is presenting on the Palestinian elections, and the guy on the right is presenting on the melting snows of Kilimanjaro.

If you click on this link you can view a PDF version of the poster I presented:
Poster