Student scholars engaged with their peers and faculty mentors during presentation sessions and a STEM poster showcase. Pictured: Student Christlynn Rodríguez shares her findings with a faculty member.
On Monday, April 28, Hostos Community College held its Annual Student Symposium. This day-long event celebrates students’ achievements, projects, and creative work while acknowledging the power of mentorship. Now in its third year, the Symposium has expanded from showcasing the work of 40-50 students in its inaugural year to featuring approximately 130 student presenters in 2025.
Guided by a commitment to creating pathways for career readiness, the Symposium provides students with early-career opportunities to present at a professional conference setting. This experience helps students build confidence, sharpen their communication skills, and prepare them for future academic and professional success.
“This is so powerful,” expressed President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, who, during her remarks, conveyed her appreciation to everyone who made the day possible, calling it “a great day of celebration, pride, sharing, and learning.”
President Daisy Cocco De Filippis expressed her pride in the day’s student presenters and their faculty mentors.
Provost Shiang-Kwei Wang and Dean Andrea Fabrizio, Office of Academic Affairs, each echoed the President’s sentiments in their greetings, and Provost Wang expressed her excitement for the much-anticipated “high-quality, first-in-class experience designed for our students.”
Dean Fabrizio introduced Dr. Kendall Queen, Ph.D., a Robotics Software Engineer at Asylon Robotics, who delivered an inspiring and energizing keynote address. Originally from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Dr. Queen shared his family's history, explaining how they transitioned from sharecropping — his grandparents — to him becoming a roboticist with a Ph.D. He emphasized that this evolution shaped his belief that we all stand on the shoulders of our ancestors, whose sacrifices and hard work have enabled us to do more, dream bigger, and go further. He reminded everyone that they were not in the room by accident; their presence, education, and professional pursuits are part of a larger narrative and trajectory.
Dr. Kendall Queen’s inspiring keynote address set the tone for the day.
“You, all of you in this room, are standing on the shoulders of your bloodline,” he said, borrowing from Sir Isaac Newton's quote, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
He continued: “Each person before you has done their part so that you may see further than they ever could, enabling you to dream bigger because your perspective is unique. You are their hope and the promise of a brighter future for this country. More importantly, you carry the power to make a difference.”
Dr. Queen acknowledged the challenges faced by students — especially first-generation students — as they engage in new academic and professional pursuits. He encouraged them not to “surrender to the pressure” they may feel and to continue their pursuit of the education and training necessary for their purpose. He reminded them they are planting seeds for future generations. “Nothing about this is easy,” he said. “But your decisions and efforts here will resonate into your future and into the lives of people whose names you don’t know.”
To conclude, Dr. Queen led all attendees in an affirmation, recognizing their strength and reminding them to “be the model of greatness and success” for those who come after them. He emphasized that this day is a celebration of their diligence, commitment, and hard work, and an opportunity to grow in confidence, meet new people, support friends, and, most importantly, “show up and show out.”
Students presented on a wide range of topics to attentive and curious audiences.
Buoyed by the morning’s speeches, student presenters from diverse fields of study and programs — including Hostos’ Honors, CSTEP, CRSP, LSAMP, and the College’s high school partnership programs — took center stage in the numerous concurrent sessions. Each session highlighted the presenters’ growing understanding and burgeoning expertise in topics ranging from STEM to health, game design, education, literature, and more. Students presented capstone projects and research on a variety of topics, including implicit bias in artificial intelligence, malaria, and kidney structure and function, and some shared original poems and personal essays.
Student presenters Anthony Gonzalez and Egli Gjuzi presented their poster on the discovery of BACE-1 inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
The day continued with an interactive STEM poster session in the main gym, where students and alumni presented their STEM projects and engaged in insightful discussions about their findings. The atmosphere was vibrant, with student presenters, their faculty mentors, and non-presenting members of the Hostos community all eager to exchange knowledge and insights.
Alumna Susan Hu returned to Hostos to present on her research with faculty mentor Dr. Vladimir Ovtcharenko.
Students Egli Gjuzi and Anthony Gonzalez, who presented their poster on the discovery of BACE-1 inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, shared that they enjoyed having the opportunity to discuss their research with their peers. Gjuzi said engaging in the research with Dr. Yoel Rodriguez, Professor in the Physical Sciences Unit, helped demystify the disease for him, and Gonzalez said he hoped their presentation would inspire others to engage in research themselves. Similarly, student Maya Jean, who presented research examining the explicit bias in the Black Box of AI with co-presenters Jay Alvarez, Gloria Amankwah, Jonathan Luna, and Jorge Sanz, said the event provided her with the opportunity to gain experience, knowledge, and professionalism. Alumna Susan Hu, who presented research titled “A Collection of Ground Spiders at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH),” shared her work with faculty-mentor Dr. Vladimir Ovtcharenko, Professor in the Biology Unit, sparked in her a deeper interest in entomology and biology, and presenting her findings has helped her become a more confident public speaker.
Non-presenters also enjoyed the experience. Student Sarah Tilda said she found a lot of the poster presentations interesting and felt like they expanded her understanding of different concepts. She expressed her interest in visiting more stations, many of which she had to wait to visit due to growing crowds, to learn more.
The energy was electric at the gym throughout the poster session presentations.
The electric day came to a close with even more concurrent sessions, featuring presentations on topics ranging from early college experiences, Latinx psychology and therapy, and the social influence of Christianity and Islam in America, to name a few.
The third Hostos Student Symposium was made possible thanks to the Ms. Mackenzie Scott’s Gift: President’s Initiatives, Office of Academic Affairs, Student Symposium Advisory Committee, and the support of College’s CUNY ASAP, CSTEP/STEP, CUNY Explorers, and CUNY Early College programs.