With the 2022 conference fast approaching, here at ICUR we thought it may be useful for applicants to hear from some previous international presenters! Thankfully, two of our student presenters from our partner institution over in New York, Baruch College, were happy to share their best pieces of advice and insight – so that you can understand how to make the most out of your ICUR experience.
First up we have Jenna, who is an English Major and History Minor currently in her junior year. A little bit about her in her own words: “As a queer Arab-American, I’m passionate about the universal advancement of women’s rights, as well as those who are ethnic, religious, and gender/sexual minorities. In my personal life, I really enjoy reading, writing, and photography, as well as fashion, makeup, and astrology!”
What was your presentation about?
- My research was based on adversities that female lawyers faced in the 1920’s, during their fight to practice law as well as how far sexual liberation in 1920’s USA extended to women. This was really only applied to white women, and although sexual liberation improved female employment in workplaces such as offices and factories, this was not so much the case for prestigious jobs such as lawyers and doctors. Beyond this, although female applicants to law school increased, they still had to tackle employment discrimination and workplace stereotypes.
What were your favourite aspects of the presenting experience?
- Delivering the presentation was definitely my favourite part, as I had to explain what my research meant and what its effect was in the course of history. Being able to explain it verbally really helps people understand what it all means!
- There were also questions that I was asked which I hadn’t previously considered while researching, and which offered great points of extension for my project. For example, why employment discrimination wasn’t addressed by the government? This question led me to realise that America didn’t have laws against employment discrimination until a particular supreme court case, and wasn’t really expanded upon for women until the 1970’s – which itself was 50 years after my research took place.
Why would you recommend ICUR to other students?
- Participating in ICUR in the middle of your college experience is useful as you have settled into your own college routine and become familiar with not having a formal structure to follow like you might do in high school. ICUR is putting something together yourself from start to finish (i.e. researching, presenting, answering and asking questions) – and this is a facet of independence that comes with being in college.
- One of the biggest pull factors for ICUR was the importance of Networking. Being able to connect with all the students and academics helps with forming connections. It doesn’t just look good on your resume, but it is really fun and makes you feel smart being able to share your thoughts on something important to you. You are also able to hear a number of issues that other people think are important, which expands your view of the world and makes you aware of everyday issues which impact you.
How did Baruch support you?
- My professor who overlooked my project was my main source of support, as she was also the one who convinced me that my research was good enough to present. My classmates who also participated were a great help! We looked over each others research, practiced together and timed each other; and supported each other as cheerleaders and friends – which boosted our self-esteem and built our confidence in a different way.
What skills did you gain at ICUR and how do you think these will help you moving forwards?
- Answering questions! Being able to answer questions in a direct manner, fully explaining them and arguing verbally is entirely different than what you do on paper. You also don’t have as much time to consider the question as if you were doing research, which means there is slightly more pressure – and you can apply this whenever you are in an on-the-spot situation.
“ICUR is just so incredibly diverse in that you are going to see a wide array of research, from a math major to a pre-med student, people from all fields are going to present on topics they feel are important to talk about. This isn’t an experience you are going to find so often, and that’s what makes ICUR so special.”
– Jenna
Next, we have Margaux, who graduated with Honours from CUNY Baruch College in 2021. She not only graduated with a dual major in Political Science and Philosophy and a minor in Psychology, but also received the Arnold Picker Award for Excellence in Political Science and the Excellence Award in Philosophy.
What was your presentation about?
- My presentation was focused around social contract theory, and interwoven with moral cognitive theories. In social contract theory, there are 4 prominent thinkers who are essentially trying to answer the question of which form of government is the best, and we can justify this through moral cognitive theory assessing the nature of mankind. I created a test to gauge moral intuition, which timed individual responses, placed them into buckets of which theory they supported and then analysed this data when placed in tables. Ultimately Lockean theory was the most favourably supported in both intuitive and extended responses, however, in practical politics there are complications.
How did you formulate your abstract?
- The application process felt easy and straightforward, as I already had to write an abstract for my thesis which I simply tweaked in order to make it more accessible. Some aspects of this process were difficult, for example editing, as I had to omit dense theoretical notions and make explicit what set my thesis apart from other social contract theses.
What was your favourite thing about being involved in ICUR?
- Although it’s difficult when you are doing it, you look back proud that you’ve made something. I felt confident in what I was talking about when it was finished, and it felt motivating to have Baruch professors who are held in high regard asking questions on the zoom chat and being genuinely interested in what I had to say.
What skills did you gain at ICUR, and how do you think these will help you moving forwards?
- Extemporaneous speaking. Although I had an idea of some questions I could be asked, a lot changed which meant I had to improvise. I was extremely nervous, but it was the best situation that I could have been put on the spot about something as it’s the one thing I know the most about, and there’s nothing else in the world I would feel better being poked and prodded about.
- You are the expert in the room about this particular topic, which makes you so much more comfortable doing uncomfortable things. Now I’m a lot less intimidated speaking on the fly, and once you do it you feel invincible after!
Have you become more interested in research because of doing ICUR?
- ICUR helped put things into perspective for someone like me who was intending to do a PhD. Having been through the process of researching intensely (especially during the pandemic) and having people criticise my work, I am not intimidated by the idea of grad school anymore.
Why would you recommend ICUR to other students?
- I would recommend ICUR to students who are in their final year like I was. It’s quite a big project, and a big achievement so I felt like I needed to have college figured out before I jumped into it. But, for someone who isn’t planning on carrying on academia, ICUR gives you a jumpstart on exercising the skills you need to succeed!
If you could change anything about your experience, what would you change?
- I would have invited more people to watch me, as it is something I was proud of! It didn’t occur to me until after my presentation that I should have invited the professors who worked with me on the project, the panel that peer reviewed it, friends, and family.
“If you’re nervous about presenting your thesis do it anyway because you will be extremely glad that you did…it’s an opportunity to passionately explain something you worked extremely hard on, and for people to say it’s compelling is validating.”
– Margaux
As always, if you have any questions that haven’t been answered here, feel free to check out our FAQ’s or contact us over email, social media @icurstudents or in our teams space!