The top three places in the Sophomore Project presentation competition were announced on April 18.
Of the top 10 finalists that presented on April 14-15, sophomore Sydney Michel took home first place, while sophomores Zoe Bowlus and Aidan Galati received second and third places, respectively.
For her project, Michel researched the effects and purposes of music in movies and how it contributes to the audience’s emotions.
Michel said she was excited about her win.
“I didn’t think I would win,” Michel said. “I watched all of the top 10 presentations, so I knew it would be really hard for the judges because all of them were well rehearsed.”
Galati, on the other hand, didn’t see any of the other presentations—she was sick on one day and busy on the other.
“I had no idea how well I did compared to the others because of that,” said Galati, who presented on brain-computer interfacing.”I was honestly shocked—I wasn’t expecting to place at all.”
Bowlus was also happy about her second-place win. She said she was pleased that her second-round presentation was a lot better than the first.
“I was really nervous during my first presentation, so I was happy to be in the top 10,” Bowlus said. “The topic meant a lot to me, and I worked hard on the presentation.”
Bowlus’s project focused on how climate change is affecting the Maine lobster industry, something she said is very important to her because she spends three months every summer in Maine.
“I’m happy that I’m able to talk about that aspect of my life, and I’m really excited to go back (to Maine) and talk to the people who helped me with my project, such as my neighbor and the man who took me lobstering,” she said.
The three winners will choose from a variety of prizes.
