Our college showed up at the Multicultural Undergraduate Research and Leadership Symposium (MURALS) a couple of weeks ago. Our undergraduates presented on their incredible research. Graduate students helped mentor our undergraduates and judge the final presentations, and our faculty were there to support their students and serve as facilitators and poster judges. There was so much energy, it was palpable.

The icing on the cake of the day was four of our students receiving awards in three different categories, including Sreeya Kairamkonda winning first place in STEM! Here were our winners and their projects:

• Sreeya Kairamkonda, First Place, STEM
  Project: HPV Vaccination Rates in New Mexico and Future Directions for Promoting the HPV Vaccine Among Young Adults
• Caley Valdez, Rising Star, Social Sciences and Humanities
  Project: Undergraduate STEM Students’ Perspectives on Inclusive Pedagogy in STEM Classrooms
• Alejandra Quesada-Stoner, Second Place, Service Learning and Leadership
  Project: Creating a Research-to-Practice Tool for Making Cultural Adaptations to Family-Based Intervention Programs for Latine Immigrant Families
• Lexi Walker, Ram’s Poster Choice Award, Service Learning and Leadership
  Project: The Intersection of Oral Health and Overall Health within the Homeless Population

Thanks to everyone in our community who helped make this year’s MURALS such an incredible experience!