Four students presented research projects from College Writing at the Office of Undergraduate Research’s (OUR) Spring 2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium that took place on Friday, April 17th in Bauer Hall. The event featured a wide array of research projects from undergraduate students from across the WashU community. Students had the opportunity to hone their presentation skills while sharing the excellent work that they have produced as College Writing students.

Students presenting work from College Writing included: Rae Downing, Saheli Goel, Maddie Nakashian, and Diana Xiao. They discuss their experiences at the symposium via Q & A format below:

Q & A with Rae Downing:

How did you come up with the idea for your project?

Initially, I was interested in connecting political rhetoric to opinions on ICE presence in and around the Springfield, MO area, as that is where I am from. However, after looking for primary sources of politicians, sheriffs, and others on social media to analyze their rhetoric, I was coming up short as no one directly involved with the ICE detaining center in the local jail has a strong social media presence. Instead, I pivoted to Eric Burlison, the congressional representative of the Southwest corner of the state, and broadened my lens from ICE presence to opinions on immigration in general.

How did your understanding of what it means to do “research” change through your work on this project in College Writing?

I felt as though my research evolved before my very eyes as I came across more and more relevant scholarly writing. I came to understand that the whole point of research, especially in the humanities, is to uncover something new, not merely restate what is already known. In putting rural sociology in conversation with political rhetoric and applying it to my very own congressperson, I was able to learn more about political patterns in my local area.

What was your favorite part of participating in the Undergraduate Research Symposium?

My favorite part was feeling myself coming out of my shell as my pitch got increasingly better with each delivery. I was quite nervous about going into it, but I willed myself to reframe the experience as an opportunity to get comfortable with exposure; the support of my friends and members of the CWP certainly helped build my confidence, too.

What advice do you have for current College Writing students about submitting their work to a future UR Symposium?

I would advise students to trust the process! The process is quite tedious and can feel larger than life at times, but the puzzle pieces will eventually fall into place with persistent work. If you don't feel lost a least once in your process, then you're doing something wrong :)

Q & A with Saheli Goel:

How did you come up with the idea for your project?

As someone who plans on double majoring in Biology and Spanish, I thought communication in the medical setting across language barriers would be an interesting way to connect these topics. Through my experience with WashU Student Interpreters, I continued to think about how I wanted to combine these ideas in my College Writing Research Project. Through these connections, I chose to evaluate how medical interpretation works in medical settings and critically analyze this topic.

How did your understanding of what it means to do “research” change through your work on this project in College Writing?

Before this research project, I thought research had to be quantitative and involve graphs. Through this project, I learned that research can also be qualitative and include anything from literature to art. Learning about this expanded definition of research helped me choose a project that applies these different techniques.

What was your favorite part of participating in the Undergraduate Research Symposium?

I loved sharing my research with my friends and hearing about their research as well. It's so inspirational to see the different impacts WashU students are making throughout the St. Louis region.

What advice do you have for current College Writing students about submitting their work to a future UR Symposium?

For future UR Symposium presenters, I hope you know that as long as your idea reflects your interests and your values, there is no bad idea. I encourage you to get as involved in the research as you can and make sure you love the topic you choose.

Q & A with Maddie Nakashian:

How did you come up with the idea for your project?

It started just as a general interest. I knew I wanted to write about music, but wasn't sure what direction to go in. The final idea came after multiple rounds of office hours with my professor and lots of discussion with Dr. Slaughter. I'm incredibly proud of the work I did, but also recognize all the help she had in even the initial idea synthesis portion of this project.

How did your understanding of what it means to do “research” change through your work on this project in College Writing?

I learned primarily how to utilize the WashU libraries for finding resources, instead of just looking up general questions online and finding results for it. I learned how to deeply engage with my secondary sources and really consider how they can fit into or add nuance to my topic. For our CW research paper, we were constrained to 3 secondary sources. At first I was frustrated, and felt that was too little for a ten page paper, but realized that deep analysis and understanding of my secondary sources was more than enough to write about. So I think I really learned how to research efficiently and analyze my sources deeply for a paper.

What was your favorite part of participating in the Undergraduate Research Symposium?

Getting the opportunity to talk about my research and practice my articulation skills to random people. I also liked dressing up and synthesizing my data in a poster, which I think allowed me to engage even more with my material.

What advice do you have for current College Writing students about submitting their work to a future UR Symposium?

Talk with your professor a lot! That's what I did. As I mentioned Dr. Slaughter helped me a lot with this project and submitted my work to the symposium. So ask your professors questions, see what they think and ideas they have on how to make your research even better. When you establish these kinds of relationships, opportunities will arise. So really, go to office hours, come with questions, and you'll create work that you and your professor are proud of.

Q & A with Diana Xiao:

How did you come up with the idea for your project?

I first learned about Space Age fashion when I researched Cold War fashion for an essay in high school, and I was shocked that I had never come across Space Age fashion until then. I had so much fun learning about the topic that I wanted to revisit it for my research paper. As I looked into notable fashion designers from that period, I stumbled upon Mary Quant and I became interested in why she, in particular, was attributed to the revolution of womenswear and how these designs are related to the 1960s social climate.

How did your understanding of what it means to do “research” change through your work on this project in College Writing?

I initially thought that my research had to revolve around surveys and quantitative data. As I continued my research, I realized that my data can be as simple and fun as visually analyzing clothing and magazine panels. In fact, a lot of random details that I noticed in these sources became my most important data.

What was your favorite part of participating in the Undergraduate Research Symposium?

My favorite part was going around and listening to other people’s presentations. It was truly an eye-opening moment to hear others teach me about things that I have never considered before.

What advice do you have for current College Writing students about submitting their work to a future UR Symposium?

Do not be afraid of reaching out to your professors and College Writing faculties for advice! Sometimes, just talking to someone about your research progress can make the process so much more manageable. Most importantly, the UR Symposium is a super friendly event, so don’t psych yourself out! Most people’s interest lies in learning about something new and appreciating other presenters’ hard work.