
Three teams of student researchers at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University competed in and won top honors in their category at the 2017 Texas A&M University Student Research Week. The students won top prizes in the competition’s Business, Administration and Public Affairs category. This is the first time Bush School students have won prizes in this university-wide competition.
Student Research Week is the nation’s largest student research competition and is open to the University’s undergraduate, graduate, and professional students from all academic backgrounds. The Bush School student research groups competed among students studying accounting, finance, information and operations management, business management, and marketing.
“We are very proud of all the Bush School research teams who participated in this year’s Student Research Week,” Bush School Dean of Student Affairs Frank Ashley said. “The fact that they entered this competition in addition to their regular coursework demonstrates the caliber of commitment our students have to confronting complex policy issues.”
The students presented research in the oral and poster presentation categories. MPIA students Joshua Boatright, Samantha Ray, Gregory Klein, Valdemar Martinez, Elaine French, and Nimrah Riaz earned first place honors for an oral presentation of their research efforts aimed at creating a national Hepatitis C strategy for Romania.
Second-year MPIA capstone students Ashley Ruiz, Maribel McMillian, Christopher Van Dam, Cheyney Allen, Emma Parma, Matthew Acosta, and Sumer Wachtendorf earned second place for an oral presentation of their research work analyzing the historical impact of Operation Just Cause, a 1989 invasion of Panama during the George H. W. Bush administration. The team utilized archives in the Bush Library to conduct the research.
Second-year MPSA capstone students also won first place in the poster presentation category. Nicole Gabler, Sydney Thomas, Sarayu Sankar, Dianey Leal, Christina Harrison, and Elizabeth McCrory presented their research on the prevalence and costs of elder financial exploitation of Alzheimer’s patients in Texas.