College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Math and Science Hub hosted their third-annual Fall Research Fair on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the Nampa Campus Academic Building. Students presented work at the event accomplished through internships and undergraduate research programs at the College.
Cristiana Holmes, a first-year student studying Microbiology, was among this semester’s participants. Her group’s project focused on physiological responses to individuals have to social media.
“Basically we wanted to see if social media stresses people out. We rounded up a bunch of volunteers, subjected them to some social media, then took saliva samples to run their cortisol levels, a stress hormone, and their heart rate. What we found was it actually calms people down – which we weren’t expecting!”
In addition to presenting her research, Cristiana said it was fun seeing the other projects and encouraging fellow students to participate in and get excited about doing their own research.
“You learn a lot, not only about what you’re researching, but about different fields and career paths. It’s a very holistic experience.”