Elizabethtown College hosts its 10th-Annual Scholarship and Creative Arts Days (SCAD) Monday, April 24, and Tuesday, April 25, 2017.
Launched in 2007, SCAD is an annual two-day event that celebrates the excellence of Elizabethtown College students. Also, as part of a community outreach initiative, the SCAD committee invites high school students from regional schools to join in on the experience. Each year, Elizabethtown hosts a SCAD keynote speaker who carries out the year’s theme. This year that theme is the Value of Research.
Each spring, during SCAD, E-town students present academic research in their fields of study, while others showcase their talents through creative expression, such as music, dance recitals or art exhibits.
Since SCAD is a two-day event, there are multiple opportunities for students to participate and experience the program. For example, E-town’s Occupational Therapy Department will host a conference Monday, April 24, in which seniors and graduate students present their research prior to graduation. The Fine and Performing Arts Department also hosts an art show that exhibits through April.
Tuesday, April 25, is the most eventful day.
Because SCAD runs all day, the College cancels classes. Throughout the day, there are four sessions that run specifically for the students participating in the showcase of scholarship presentations. Students are chosen or can request to participate in this event, in which they present a poster filled with examples of research on their specific field of study.
This year’s keynote event takes place at 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 25, in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center, and is the first of its kind. Rather than feature a single speaker, “Meaningful Paths: Reflections of Blue Jays,” combines a diverse group of elite alumni who have advanced in areas of service, scholarly research and graduate studies, as well as interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial successes following their graduation from Elizabethtown College.
The alumni participating include Mila Henry ’06, a New York-based pianist, coach and music director; Jennifer S. Stanford ’99, an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at Drexel University; Sarah Lanphier ’09, founder and CEO of the company Nuts About Granola; Amita Mehta ’95, vice president, implementation leader/leveraging opportunities, with Prudential; and Lydia Dearie ’16, a literacy lab pre-K tutor through AmeriCorps.
Carol Ouimet, a SCAD coordinator, said that “approximately 3,400 students have presented their research-based-projects or have performed for SCAD, since the program began in 2007.” SCAD can help curious students experience new fields of study since every E-town academic program participates.
~ Guest writer for this story is Jessica Binnig.