ECC Students Showcase Research on Campus Resources, Community Issues, More

For the past four years, Elgin Community College (ECC) students have brought their research to life through posters and presentations at the annual Student Symposium. This year, students presented on topics ranging from promoting campus resources through social media to analyzing exoplanets in outer space, and examining how Hispanic children have been impacted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in their communities. 

Students from the college’s Honors Program, Center for Undergraduate Research, Innovation, & Creativity (CURIC), and Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) participate in the event each year. The 2026 Student Symposium was held from April 27 to April 30. Students develop research topics based on their interests and work closely with faculty mentors throughout the process. 

CURIC Fellows, Tremeisha Gray and Kathleen Lopez, presented research on how to connect students to campus resources through storytelling on social media. Gray and Lopez developed a survey that combined student and faculty perspectives to evaluate awareness, accessibility, and effectiveness of campus support services. Their goal was to identify actionable improvements, Gray said.

Using Gray’s research, Lopez created short social media videos that were shared on ECC’s social media platforms. Videos created highlighted tutoring services, child care options, and how to apply for a scholarship at ECC. 

Another group of CURIC Fellows — Antonika Sharpovalova, Ajay Chandran, Anala Thakkar, Vendang Roy, and Aleksander Ramocki — presented “Investigating Exoplanets and Searching for Potential Signatures of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth.” 

Their research focused on detecting and analyzing exoplanets, which Chandran described as “planets that exist beyond our solar system,” using observational data. The project focused on analyzing distant systems using telescope observations and observational data, Chandran said. 

Sharpovalova explained how exoplanets are detected, including through radial velocity, which measures shifts in a star’s light caused by a planet’s gravitational pull. 

Another presentation focused on “The Impact of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) Enforcement on the Mental Health of Hispanic Children,” presented by CURIC Fellow Evelyn Aquino. 

She detailed how approximately five million children in the United States live with at least one undocumented family member, meaning many children grow up in environments where fear of separation can shape their daily lives.  

“This is not just a statistic,” Aquino said. “It represents children navigating school friendships and development while carrying a constant sense of uncertainty and the background of their lives.” 

National Conferences 

Some students presented at both the ECC symposium and national conferences. 

ECC student Natalia Yanez presented research on individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a community college setting at the Midwestern Psychological Association Conference. Student Hernán Cortés shared research on factors influencing individuals’ willingness to assign blame to artificial intelligence at the same conference.

CURIC Fellow Bree Abel also presented at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research, where much of the work is typically conducted by students from four-year institutions. Abel's research explored plant responses to climate change using a multivariate approach to model changes in the biosphere.