UNK Online
UNK Online
182 Students to showcase work at UNK Student Research Day
The University of Nebraska at Kearney will host 182 student researchers from a wide range of disciplines at this year’s Student Research Day on April 16.
The event is open to all UNK online and in person students, with nearly 30 graduate students presenting their scholarly works through oral and poster presentations, performances and written projects.
Graduate and online students are also well represented, with research spanning biology, education, speech-language pathology, public communication, counseling and more.
For students like Kameran Dostal, a 2025 Art Education M.A.Ed. alumna, research offered a way to enhance her work in her classroom.
“I've really got to explore how I can take research into my everyday teaching,” said Dostal.
For many students, research is also an opportunity to build meaningful connections with faculty mentors and peers while developing critical skills in writing, analysis and presentation.
Building relationships is especially impactful for online students who may never get to meet their advisors or peers face to face.
Kattie Sadd, a graduate research assistant for UNK Associate Professor of Communications Tiffani Luethke, conducted research on Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) refugee women residing in the Midwest.
Since Sadd resided in Maine, the group spent many hours meeting through Zoom. After the conclusion of the project, she was able to travel to Nebraska to meet her advisor, peers and the
MENA women from the study face to face.
“That’s one of my favorite things about UNK - people treat you like family,” Sadd said. “They genuinely care about you. I feel like a lot of my friends who went to larger universities maybe didn’t get that one-on-one attention.”
Research can also become a pathway to future academic pursuits, including doctoral programs.
“UNK has given me so many opportunities like being involved in grad council and research, which has really stacked my resume,” Kelcie Burke, 2024 Curriculum and Instruction M.A.Ed. alumna, said. “I think UNK definitely prepares you for the next level.”
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