Presidents Scholars among presenters at conference

Three students in the Smittcamp Family Honors College at California State University, Fresno made presentations about their research at the third annual California State University Honors Consortium Student Conference at San Diego State University on Oct. 8.

Stephen Trembley, Melissa Dittmar and Josh McDonald were among the 60 CSU students who attended. Dr. Stephen Rodemeyer, Fresno State’s Honors College director, also attended.

The conference showcased the work of honors students from nine California State University campuses. Students presented papers and artwork on topics such as political issues, mass media, culture and the importance of higher education. At the conclusion of each presentation, students engaged in a discussion about the social relevance of these topics and facilitated a dialogue about possible solutions to some of today’s most challenging problems.

Stephen Trembley, a sophomore majoring in mass communications and journalism, presented his topic on “The Newsroom.” His goal was to gain insight into how news stories are produced and the process by which reporters begin their careers. During his presentation, he discussed his experience working as an intern in the newsroom of a Fox TV affiliate in Oakland. He showed a news story that he wrote and prepared for a resume tape. The story details a proposal of a design for a new Oakland Athletics Stadium.

Melissa Dittmar, a junior majoring in psychology, discussed “Child sleep and the mother-child attachment relationship.” Her presentation was based upon research conducted in the department of Child and Family Sciences at Fresno State throughout the summer of 2005.
Dittmar and other researchers used objective measurements of the child's sleep along with parental report regarding sleep patterns, child temperament and sleep arrangements in the home. These data are now being used to determine whether a correlation exists between sleeping arrangements and parent-child attachment.

Josh McDonald, a senior majoring in philosophy, political science and psychology, presented “The Adventures of Herbie the Lovebot: Delineated Imagistic Composition and Musical Chairs.” Delineated imagistic composition, a new method of improvisatory-based, jazz influenced musical composition for a small ensemble, was developed during the spring of 2005 by the Fresno State Jazz Combo I. The purpose is to conjure vivid mental images of complex nouns and actions through improvisation. McDonald included in his presentation samples of compositions performed and composed by the Fresno State’s Jazz Combo I.

(Copy by University Communications student-intern Megan Jacobsen.)