Imagine a vibrant room teeming with the excitement of your proud peers, showing off the work they have dedicated themselves to for months. A room full of fellow flyers is celebrating your research! This is CARS — Creative Activity and Research Showcase — the student research day here at Nazareth. 

Before I elaborate on this, let me introduce myself. My name is Sophia Caruana. I am graduating in May 2024, and I am an Ethical Data Science major. I transferred to Nazareth just last semester, and already I feel a part of a community! CARS is fantastic because it highlighted the community I was embraced by as soon as I stepped foot on this beautiful campus. On CARS day, I walked into the Shults Community Center with some buddies, planted my poster down, and got straight to work presenting!

I learned a lot of cool things while doing this. My research was on how where you get your information from impacts how you feel about the COVID-19 vaccines! I found a lot of strong correlations that were fascinating. Looking at more alternative sites was significantly correlated with views on the vaccines. Some demographic statuses, like education level and political views, also were closely linked to opinions on the vaccines. 

What was just as fascinating was how the Nazareth community came together to support and celebrate the great work we had done for months. I learned that my community here is genuinely interested in commemorating our learning! And this happens in many different ways:

  • Each CARS student needs a faculty sponsor. Dr. Wendy Norris oversaw my research, supported me, and helped me through the process of creating research, along with preparing me for graduate school. 
  • Students, faculty, and staff asked all sorts of questions about my project at CARS, showing me that they were interested in my learning. 
  • And President Paul even gave a grand speech congratulating us on our hard work and encouraging us golden flyers to continue working hard, in and outside of the classroom. 

Now, what if I told you that YOU can be a part of CARS too, if you are a Nazareth student? Anyone who wants to show off their hard work in research, performance, or production can participate, and this lovely celebration of our hard work happens every year. Hope you’ll be there!