For the first time since 2008, the annual Beacon Conference was held at Bergen Community College June 3.
PARAMUS, N.J. – Honors students from 10 community colleges across the mid-Atlantic region, including 20 Bergen Community College students, participated in the 24th annual Beacon Conference held at the College June 3.
Students worked with faculty mentors and presented research in 20 different academic disciplines. Selected as most outstanding in their subject area, six Bergen students earned top honors:
*Sana Azizah Khan, of Bergenfield, “The Consequences of Homelessness on the Emotional, Social and Academic Development of Adolescents,” with mentor professor Anne Maganzini, Ph.D.;
*Daneris Santiago, of Newark, “Vilifying Columbus or Redefining Genocidal Intent?,” with mentor professor Sarah Shurts, Ph.D.;
*Kathryn Colombo, of Paramus, “I Know Who I Am and Who I May Be If I Choose: An Examination of Fact, Fantasy, and Don Quixote as an Iconoclast,” with mentor professor Andrew Tomko, Ph.D.;
*Egnatia Vaso, of Fort Lee, “The Uniqueness of Marvell as a Neo-Catullan Poet,” with mentor professor Daniel Salerno, Ph.D.;
*Alberto Chamorro, of Fair Lawn, “Simulated Truth: A Study of Simulacra in Modern Photography,” with mentor professor Suzaan Boettger, Ph.D.; and
*Elvia M. Asencio, of Cliffside Park, “Rewriting the Virgin of Guadalupe in Gloria Anzaldua’s ‘Coatlalopeuh, She Who Has Dominion Over Serpents’ and Sandra Cisneros’ ‘Guadalupe the Sex Goddess,’” with mentor professor Maria Makowiecka, Ph.D.
The annual Beacon Conference promotes research and scholarship among students from two-year colleges. Criteria for judging during the conference include originality and quality of research, written work and oral presentation.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls 15,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
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