Goshen College hosted its annual Academic Symposium on Wednesday, April 8. The event featured a variety of student academic work to present to students, faculty and members of the community.

At 11 a.m., Patrick Farran, associate professor of business, and Regina Shands Stoltzfus, professor of peace, justice and conflict studies, presented at a convocation about their recently published works. 

Farran spoke about his book, “The Intentional CEO,” a guide for upper management. Shands Stoltzfus talked about her book, “Resistance, Resilience, and Radical Love: Reflections on Blackness and Teaching Peace.”

The convocation also had a brief moment to recognize the winners of the President’s Graduating Leader Award, who would have a special ceremony that evening. 

The award is given to seniors who “demonstrate academic excellence and leadership inside and outside of the classroom,” according to the college.

The winners of the 2026 award were Eliza Alemán, a history and sustainability major; Kate Bodiker, a writing and communication major and the executive editor of The Record; Aaliah Higareda, a graphic design major; Ella McLeod, an accounting major; Henry Meyer, a biology major; and Ellie Nickel, a social work major.

“It’s nice to be recognized for my work, and I congratulate all the other awardees for their hard work,” Meyer said.

Meyer presented four times at symposium, including a presentation on his senior biology research project. He studied maple trees near his family farm in Huntertown, Indiana.

Meyer said that, while he had some interesting findings, that wasn’t the point of the project. “The real purpose for doing it is more about designing a study from nothing and pushing it through to, in theory, a publishable paper,” he said.

Meyer said that this project gave him valuable practice, and that he was glad to have the opportunity to present at Academic Symposium. 

“Sometimes you do a presentation for class and it feels almost anticlimactic to just present it for the grade. … But it’s a different kind of academic stimulation when you get a bunch of people who really enjoy what they’ve studied and let them loose for a day,” he said.

Ryan Carrillo, senior film major, spoke at a reception for his Pinchpenny Press debut, where he also read sections of the book. “I like the reactions I got from people, even if it’s laughing or not, or even relating to the reading,” he said.

Carrillo’s book, The Music Went Over My Head, is described as an experimental memoir. “By that I mean, it contains poetic segments,” he said. “So it reads kind of like a poem and then dives into more recognizable memoir segments.”

The Music Went Over My Head was presented alongside Lullabelle, a series of short stories by Lindsey Graber, and Sins of the Father, a play by Kate Bodiker.

These books were available for purchase at the event, and copies will be available for $5 at the student art sale on Monday or by contacting Lindsey Graber at lindseyag@goshen.edu.

Meyer also had a message for the organizers of the symposium.

“Thank you to the committee that organizes Academic Symposium, all of the faculty and staff that are involved in planning it, because it’s a lot of work to bring a day together like that and have it run smoothly.”