On November 15, graduate students across Colorado State University’s eight colleges participated in the annual Graduate Student Showcase.
Hosted at the Lory Student Center, this conference served as a platform for graduate students to not only exhibit their cutting-edge research and creative endeavors but also to forge connections with peers and faculty, explore diverse disciplines, and compete for a wide range of scholarships. The LSC Ballroom buzzed with scholarly energy as students presented a myriad of research posters and compelling visual arts presentations.
In recognition of exceptional research contributions, nearly $21,000 in cash prizes was awarded. The Office of International Programs proudly sponsored three distinguished Global Impact Awards, each accompanied by a $400 cash prize, honoring graduate students who have demonstrated a fervent commitment to effecting positive change on a global scale through their research endeavors.
GLOBAL IMPACT AWARD recipients
Congratulations to the 2023 Global Impact Award recipients!
- Katherine Stevick, Sociology
- Emilia Ravetta, Sociology
- Rose Parham, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology
Awardees and excerpts from their abstracts are featured below.
Katherine Stevick
“Still Sitting in the Dark:” Living with Bumbuna Dam
“My research investigates the long-range social and ecological effects of the Bumbuna Hydroelectric Project, phase 1, (BHP-1) on two villages in Kalanthuba Chiefdom, Sierra Leone. Based on participatory mapping and 65 interviews across village residents, local leaders, and government officials, this research traces both material transformations and the narratives people create around life with the dam. 15 years after the initial inundation in 2009, this project analyzes slower-emerging processes of agrarian change and adaptation, which are rarely captured by the literature on the social impact of large dams.”
EMILIA RAVETTA
Authoritarian Environmentalism’s Expansion: analyzing BRI in Latin America and Africa
“Amidst the global transition away from carbon-dependent economies and the increasing prominence of critical mineral extraction, environmental governance in the Global South has undergone rapid transformations in recent decades. China has emerged as a key player in shaping the new international economic and political order, expanding its influence and investments in global sustainable development through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative. This study compares the discourses employed by China, Latin America (Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile), and West African countries (Ghana, Nigeria, and Mali) to justify the expansion of gold and critical minerals mining and assesses their effects on the enforcement of environmental regulations in these regions. The study utilizes a critical discourse analysis of official governmental documents, media reports, and academic articles from the three regions, focusing on how development, environment, green transition, and China’s expansion are framed at both the micro-level (language) and meso-level (institutional) contexts.”
Rose parham
Processes for Collaborative, Interdisciplinary, Action-Based Research in the Ecuadorian Highlands
“The following research was developed in collaboration with an Indigenous community organization in the Ecuadorian highlands. The research is deeply interdisciplinary, encompassing an ecological and anthropological component, both of which were co-designed around the community’s concerns regarding the impact of development in their region. The ecological research addresses concerns about contamination in local waterways, investigating several water quality parameters in an important river to the area and in irrigation channels used for agricultural activities. Water testing sites were identified by the community, and community members will use results to support local conservation and mining resistance efforts. The anthropological research focuses on the community’s broader philosophy regarding trade-offs between development and natural resource conservation and seeks to encourage the re-thinking of the dominant capitalist development model.”