Connections Excellence Awards

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Connections Excellence Awards are awarded each year to participants of College of Western Idaho's Connections Project. Congratulations to all the winners, past and present! 

2025 Event Submissions

Showcase your innovative projects, research, and creative work at this year's event! 

Event Submissions

  • 2024

    Posters

    Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences

    • First Place – Erica Kreczkowski, How Cognitive Distortions can Influence Anxiety, Self-Esteem, Attachment Styles, and Emotional Well-Being of College Students
    • Second Place – Kiana Woodruff, Access to Mental Health Services
    • Third Place – Jose Mendoza, Ali German, Angel Carrera, Whitney chase, Yasmeen Ramirez, Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)s on Early Adulthood

    Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math

    • First Place – Elliot Johnson, Comparing Biodiversity Between Canyon County Irrigation Canal and Boise River
    • Second Place – Kate Helmer, Gateway Arch for College Algebra and Trigonometry Signature Assignment
    • Third Place – Cheylee Corle, Macroinvertebrate Population Variety in Urban Creeks Compared to Rural Creeks In the Treasure Valley

    Recorded Mini Talks

    Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences

    • First Place – Clinton Florian, Psychology Capstone Project
    • Second Place – Jessica Tisch, Confronting Imposter Syndrome
    • Third Place – Cassie Peery, Hannah Lange, Charlotte Gullickson, and Claire Westergard, The Ripple Effects of Childhood Trauma: Implications for Adult Relationships

    Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math

    • First Place – Jacob Leuzinger, Organic Compound Signature Assignment

    Live Mini-Talks

    Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences

    • First Place – Lorraine Draper, Trauma-Informed Yoga Workshop
    • Second Place – Tia Maliqi, Minds in Focus: The Essential Role Psychiatry Plays
    • Third Place – Jakob Stevens & Jared Kartel, How Belonging and Loneliness are Impacted by Academic Factors

    Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math

    • First Place – Scarlett Waski, Mathematically Modeling the Human Heart
    • Second Place – Emmie Bevan, The Math and Science Behind the Beer-Lambert Law

      Clubs

      • Biology Club – Boise River ReWild: Working with Golden Eagle Audubon Society, removing invasive species from the Boise River banks and replanting with native plants

      Enrichment Groups

      As part of this year’s Phi Rho Pi National Tournament, held in early April in Reno, Nevada, the team competed in the Interpreter’s Theatre event. For this event schools may enter a team of 3-14 students who will present a 25-minute piece that interprets literature for an audience through dramatic performance. This year, CWI Speech & Debate students presented an Interpeter’s Theatre piece entitled “Puffs” by author Matt Cox, which they will share live with Connections Day attendees.

      Other Cool Stuff

      • First Place – Tarah Townsell, What About the Kids That Fall Through the Cracks of Homelessness (a policy brief)
      • Second Place – Maia Abiador, Rock & Roll by EDEN (without Music) (a music video scrubbed and re-sounded)
      • Third Place – Ryan Everett Heffelfinger, The Peacockatrice’s Trail Magazine (27 page magazine)

      • 2023

        Posters

        Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences 

        • First Place – Kylie Fontenot, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Education System - Ethics Project
        • Runner Up – Angelica Kopets, Attachment Styles and Relation to Potential of Partner Monitoring Based on the Frequency of Social Media Use 
        • Runner Up – Leah Johnson, So You Think You Want a Job
        • Runner Up – Gabbi Bergeron, How To Empower Youth in English as a Second Language Classrooms and Respect Diversity in Your Community 

        Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math

        • First Place – Amelia Baer, Maturity of Baby Sounds 
        • Runner Up – Megan Jablonski, NASA Globe Cloud Gaze
        • Runner Up – Madeline Titelbaum, Penguin Watch: Measuring the Impacts of Climate Change

        Recorded Mini Talks

        Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences

        • First Place – John Aue, The Significance of Accessible Education
        • Runner Up – Augustin Winn-Arandeda, A Strong History Event That Happened in Chile
        • Runner Up – Jesse Hoffer, Making a Change

          LIve Mini-Talks

          Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences

          • First Place – Jennie Bartus, If I Can’t See You, You Can’t See Me
          • Runner Up – Savannah Werner, Andrew Sargent & Val Harris, Psychological Myths & Misconceptions

          Club Submissions

          • Winner – Philosophy Club
          • Runner Up – Anthropology Club, Northwest Anthropological Conference Attendance

           

          Other Cool Stuff

          • First Place – Carly Rapp, Canyon County Youth Court
          • Runner Up – Tiffany Black, The Project Approach: Flowers
          • Runner Up – Audrey Dorosh, Worms – A Project
          • Runner Up – Julia Alvarado, Node Code Breakers

        • 2022

          Posters

          Connect Category

          • First Place – Mercades Nelson, Is Social Media Addiction Compromising Our Self-Regulating Behaviors?
          • Runner Up – Kaw Paw, Karen People of Burma
          • Runner Up – Angie Apreotes, MRSA: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureaus
          • Runner Up – Anna Miles, Development of Early Detection Technology of Botulism

          Inspire Category

          • First Place – Lia Montes & Natalie D’Agostino, PTK Latinx Postcards
          • Runner Up – Alana Stewart, Resistance of Mycoplasma pneumonia to Macrolide antibiotics
          • Runner Up – Kennedy Cole, COBS Community Outreach Behavioral Services Raising Awareness About Human Trafficking and Providing Resources to Its Victims
          • Runner Up – Brittany Jamison, Greater Than, Less Than and Equal to for 1st Grade

          Recorded Mini-Talks

          Connect Category

          • First Place – Bryce Thompson, Extroversion & Shyness During the COVID-19 Pandemic
          • Runner Up – Zane Cooper, Redlining in America
          • Runner Up – Hallee Barney, Group Dynamics

          Inspire Category

          • First Place – Logan Adams, The Struggles of Life at the Minidoka War Relocation Center
                                 Zane Cooper, Plato’s Virtues & the Tripartite Soul
          • Runner Up – Andison Fluckiger, The Republic of Plato Poetry and Imitation

          Live Mini-Talks

          • Tie for First Place – Craig Petersen, Speak Up Ink Up Charity Event
          • Tie for First Place – Sawyer Ellis, Google Vision AIY
          • Runner Up – Kennedy Cole, Growth and Fixed Mindset: A Survey About Mindsets and Their Relationship to Symptoms of Mental Illness, the Internalization of Problems, and Emotion Regulation Strategies
          • Runner Up – Mercades Nelson, Is Social Media Compromising Our Self-Regulating Behaviors?

        • 2021

          The 2021 Connection Project included posters, mini presentations, and club submissions. Finalists in each category were determined by a panel of judges. Winners of this year’s Connections Excellence Awards were presented by Will Young, Vice President of the College’s Speech and Debate team and President of the Queers and Allies Club, during the event. Winners of each category received $100 to $150 prizes.

          Posters

          Inspire Category

          • First Place – Tory Cardwell, Human Rhino/Enterovirus
          • Runner Up – Marty Lawhorn, Service as a Teacher’s Assistant
          • Runner Up – McKynna Dugger, Naegleria Flowleri: Transmission/Prevention of Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalititis (PAM)

          Connect Posters

          • First Place – Annie Colombatto, Re-imagining College
          • Runner Up – Emily Craner, Please Don’t
          • Runner Up – Julie Meyer, Promoting Student Success

          Talks

          Inspire Category

          • First Place – Kristina Turley, Brooklyn Miller, and Camille Slack, Police Reform: Response to Mental Health Crisis Calls
          • Runner Up – Michelle Petit, Pitching a (Fictitious) Website Design to the Business Owners

          Connect Category

          • First Place – Kate Jones, Origins of a Republic: America’s Role in the Formation of the Republic of Liberia
          • Runner Up – Anastasia English, Women of Ancient Athens

          Clubs

          • First Place – Biology Club, Pollinator Garden Virtual Tour

          Thank you to the judges, instructors, and participants of this year’s Connection Project, and congratulations to the winners!

          Watch the 2021 Connections Excellence Awards

        • 2020

          Despite the 2020 Connections Project being moved online, CWI celebrated student projects with a video showcasing the Connections Excellence Award recipients. More than 130 students submitted work, which included posters, artwork, videos, websites, and presentations. In addition to this recognition, award winners will also receive a cash prize.

          Posters

          Connect Category

          Posters that explore existing connections between or within communities, cultures, or disciplines.

          • First Place – Audrey Young, Bacillus Anthracis and Weaponized Anthrax
                                  Brian Mitchell, Myths and Misconceptions of Postpartum Depression
          • Runners Up
            • Aaliyah Ibarra, Memory Strategies
            • Rachel Hanson, Girl Scouts, Self-Concepts, Comparisons—Oh My!
            • Tim Lobb, Discovering a New Approach to Life
            • Ally Almaraz, Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1

          Inspire Category

          Posters that inspire others to learn more or take action.

          • First Place – Tayzia Stark, Advocating for 'Shy Students'
          • Runners Up
            • Sevio Stanton, Exploring the Relationship Between Exoplanet Orbital Architectures and Host Star Compositions
            • Zack Szymczycha, A Methodology for Systematic Mapping of Raptor Literature
            • Debra Brockert, Hey! I Care About That Issue
            • Roni Ramos, Free 2 Succeed

          Mini Talks

          • First Place
            • Beta Sigma Pi, CWI’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, Stereotyping and Civility on the CWI Campus: PTK Honors in Action Project” by Laura Baldwin, Rheanna Palmer, Jody Ayers, Kristal Smith, Nicole Johnston, and Mia Cinello-Smith; presented by Michal Yadlin
            • Taite Griffin, Bellevue Hospital and It’s Effects on Early American Healthcare

          Synchronous Mini Talks 

          • First Place
            • Tim Riley, My Price of Admission
            • Kathleen Brashier, Treasure
            • Kristin Grimm, The Equitable Treatment of Male and Female Genders in John Donne's 'The Canonization'

          Each year, faculty and staff work to bring this wonderful event to life. Michelle Fellows, Department Chair of Social Sciences, has been an integral part of the Connections Project serving as the committee lead and overseeing the production of the project for the last five years. She knew students who participated in the Connections Project pushed themselves to grow, not only academically, but often emotionally as well. As Fellows prepares to leave CWI to teach in Alaska, we commend her for all she has done for the Connections Project and wish her luck on her new endeavor.

          “Michelle has been inspirational to all who worked on the project, and without her, it would not have been the same,” said Cathy Carson, Associate Professor of Math.

          Watch the 2020 Connections Excellence Awards

        • 2019

          Emcees

          • Carl Della Badia
          • Justin Vance
          • Abby Wolford

          Performers

          • Afrosonics

          Posters

          Connect Category

          • First Place – Tied, Charity Watson & Anthropology Club
          • Runner Up – Cassie Woodard 
          • Runner Up – Timothy Lobb

          Inspire Category

          • Runner up – Ashley Bryant 
          • Runner up – Jennifer Herrera 

          Mini Talks

          • Elizabeth Carter
          • Brianna Tomaskovich-Valdez

          Other Cool Stuff 

          • Ashley Hughes

        • 2018

          Keynote Speaker

          • Jennifer Lastra

          Emcees

          • Dakota Keiser
          • Reggie Jayne
          • Adrianna
          • Catherine Kyle
          • Charles Dickinson

          Performers

          • Afronsonics

          Awards

          • Connect – Christine Lee, Alesia Harney and Nicole Brush
          • Collaborate – Anthropology Club
          • Inspire – Tiffany Makres
          • Educate Talks – Jolien Stam
          • Educate Posters – Eva Streicher

        • 2017

          Keynote Speaker

          • Angie Smith

          Emcees

          • Jacob Armstrong
          • Jeffrey Davis
          • Jenica Draney
          • Steven Jenkins
          • Aleli Snvely

          Performers

          • Mexico Lindo
          • Danza Azteca Questzacoatl
          • Mladi Behar

          Awards

          • Poster – Jessyka Scherer
          • Mini Talk – Ollie Shannon and Rebecca Magana
          • Other Project – Ryan Uria
          • Adjuncts' Choice – Life Sciences students
          • Foundation's Choice – Kali Ireland
          • Student Life’s Choice – Claudia Alejandra Galaviz

        • 2016

          Key Note Speaker

          • Artist, Luz Camerena
            Conflict of the human spirit when living in a non-native community

          Emcees

          • Hunter Carson
          • Elizabeth Popp

          Performers

          • Danza Azteca Quetzalcoatl
            Celebrating the ancestral peoples of Mexico.
          • Global Lounge Drumming and Capoeira
            Promoting diversity and building a stronger community through art, music, dance, friendship and culture

          Mini-Talks

          • Ollie Shannon, Color and Gender:  A Story of How Language Impacts Culture
          • Kyra Dorman, Solar Energy:  A Lesson for 8th Graders
          • Krystal Powell, Inquiry STEM Teaching
          • Hunter Carson, Photosynthesis
          • Ashley Wyatt, The Birds and the Bees
          • Robyn Richardson, Data Results from Connecting with Ideas Courses

          Panel Discussions

          • Mark Galaviz, Boise State University Master of Arts in Communication
          • Jessi Jensen, Boise State University Master of Social Work Program
          • Phil Nelson, Boise State University Nursing
          • Tina Pittman, Art Instructor at Skyview High School
          • Rhiannon Trull, Boise State University Master of Arts in Counseling, School Counseling

          Posters & Artwork

          Sura Ali, Jessica Ames, Brenda Anderson, Ryan Blunck, Brandie Austin-Huck, Amy Behner, Stephanie Caddy, Madeline Cardenas, Angel Castro, Megane, Chevarria, Ken Christensen, Caroline Cole, Nikki Collins, Shannon Sharay Collins, Shayne Cluck, Joseph Davidson, Stephanie Fillmore-Valdez, Jackie Fowell, Alison Fuller, Jose Garcia, Shaylynn Giroir, Rafael Gomez, Katie Gonzalez, Ben Guimares, Issra Hamad, Maha Hamad, Van Harper, Sonia Henderson, Nick Hoover, Camri Hughes, Asmaa Ibrahi, Jamie Kingsley, Jessica Lema, Wade Lybbert, Muktar Mberwa, Michael Molnar, Chelle Moore, Jerry Murphy, Luity Mwamba, Cristian Ornelas, Holly Owens, Jacquie Pearson, Azalea Perez, Whitney Pollard, Kate Routledge, Robin Sleight, Kendi Smith, Shannon Strozzi, Tom Thompson, Alex Thurman, Krystena Vierra, Jade Walker, Nikki Wanner, Tricia Williams, Toe Zaw, and the Artwork of Goran Fazil’s students.

          CWI student work showcased from courses taught by: Karen Brown, Erica Compton, Jenica Draney, Goran Fazil, Nicole Frank, Michelle Fellows, Nikki Gorrell, Teresa Rich, Heather Schoenherr, Andrea Schumaker, Martha Timberlake