OSCARS Celebrates 10 Years of Outstanding Accomplishments

Since 2016, more than 1,200 students have shared research, creative work, and performances at Anoka-Ramsey’s Outstanding Scholarly Creative Activities and Research Symposium (OSCARS). The symposium offers student scholars the chance to apply new research and communication skills. Projects, from start to OSCARS presentation completion, are often incorporated into a student’s course curriculum, giving them guideposts and structure throughout the process.

A closer look at outcomes shows OSCARS participants go further. Biology presenters who participated prior to 2025 transferred to four-year institutions at a rate of 58.2% vs. 47.7% for non-presenters and earned bachelor’s degrees at 58.3% vs. 46.8% for non-presenters. They were also 3 to 4 times more likely to pursue post-baccalaureate degrees than those who didn’t participate.

Across disciplines, alumni report that OSCARS built confidence, strengthened communication skills and laid a foundation for continued academic and professional success.

Steph Powers

Presented: 2025

Currently: Studying environmental policy and management with an emphasis in mycology at University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Presenting virtually at the 2024 OSCARS was a small step on a bigger undergraduate research journey for Steph Powers.

“Having my work displayed at the OSCARS encouraged me to continue to share my work,” Steph says. “Presenting my research helped me feel more confident in what I was doing.” 

Steph’s OSCARS project — completed as part of a Course Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) — explored wing coloring in North American and European butterflies. She later presented that same research at a national entomology conference, joining more than 3,000 scientists from across the country to discuss the latest in insect research.

“We were some of the only community college students there. That made it feel like a really unique opportunity,” she says. “Being a two-year student among mostly four-year institutions really showed how much Anoka-Ramsey invests in its students.” 

Carmen Multz

Presented: 2023, 2024

Currently: Actor and theatre/production technician in the Twin Cities

Carmen Multz will tell you they didn’t intend to find their way into theater.

“I kind of took it as a throwaway elective to get an ‘A’ in my ledger,” Carmen says. “By the end of the semester, I was completely obsessed.”

That obsession accelerated thanks to the OSCARS. Carmen first performed for an audience during the symposium.

“It was my first real experience performing something for an audience,” they say. “If I hadn't performed at the OSCARS, I'm not sure if I’d be doing what I do.”

Carmen says strong connections – deepened through OSCARS work, regional theater competitions and more – were a cornerstone of their experience with Anoka-Ramsey.

“The theater community at Anoka-Ramsey was the closest thing I had to a family on campus,” they say. “There was just nothing like the students and faculty associated with it.”

Stanley Renty

Presented: 2023

Currently: Student at University of Minnesota

When it came time for the OSCARS, Stanley Renty asked if he could share his research with an oral presentation rather than the assigned written one.

“I hate writing papers,” he says, “so I proposed something different.”

Now a theatre education major at the University of Minnesota, Stanley’s project focused on disparities in health care between Black and white patients.

But more than the presentation, Stanley remembers another accomplishment from the OSCARS. On the day he presented, he was named the philosophy student of the year at Anoka-Ramsey. He says it was a major highlight of his experience.

Since graduating from Anoka-Ramsey and setting off to pursue further education, Stanley has had an opportunity to reflect on his time at the college.

“I didn’t want to go to college but I left Anoka-Ramsey with a profound appreciation for higher education,” he says.

Jordan Arevalo

Presented: 2022, 2023, 2024

Currently: Graduate student at St. Cloud State University, studying ecology and looking to pursue a career as a field researcher or naturalist

Jordan Arevalo says the OSCARS helped her overcome a common fear.

“I was terrified of public speaking until the OSCARS,” she says.

Participating in 2022, 2023 and 2024 helped her build communication skills and confidence.
Those skills proved essential during her time as a naturalist intern with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, where she spent the summer presenting to state park visitors about science and ecology.

“That job is basically all public speaking,” Jordan says. “Even trying to convince a random stranger there’s something good about mosquitoes.”

She says she’s looking forward to a career as a field researcher or naturalist. It’s a future she sees thanks, at least in part, to faculty mentors she encountered at Anoka-Ramsey.

“I was lucky enough to have professors who really inspired me to keep doing science,” Jordan says. 

Lydia Wang

Presented: 2025, 2026

Currently: Anoka-Ramsey student

Lydia Wang and a team of co-investigators will present findings of their research about turtle plastron (underside shell) patterns at the 2026 OSCARS.

The group’s research work is part of a CURE and is being completed in a biology course.

“We’re doing a research project the entire semester,” Lydia says.

She participated in the 2025 OSCARS. Lydia says the experience was a great opportunity to practice translating complex science concepts into a language a broad audience could easily understand.
Looking ahead, Lydia hopes to use the OSCARS and exposure to research and science at Anoka-Ramsey to help her identify a career and education path.

She plans to take a gap year to explore her options. True to the scientific method, Lydia plans to test two hypotheses of what she might like to do next. Her goal is to pursue hands-on learning through internships or work experience to get closer to the two career paths she imagines.

“I see two pathways,” Lydia says, “field research or sustainability consulting.” 

Carley Whittaker

Presented: 2023, 2024

Currently: Corporate educator at Optum Insights Supporting Allina Health

Carley Whittaker was looking for a flexible learning environment that could help her grow her skills as a working professional and recent transplant from Indiana.

“I started taking a couple of classes at a time,” she says. “All the professors were really down-to-earth and comfortable with nontraditional students.”

Carley participated in the OSCARS twice. Her first project explored butterfly wing coloring through a web-based CURE. The second time, she headed into the swamp to study how frog populations respond to changes in water and air temperatures.

Carley says the communication and data interpretation skills she honed through the OSCARS have served her well in her career as a corporate health care trainer.

“Learning how to take data and make it digestible at the OSCARS has translated well for me,” she says. “I love looking at policies and figuring out how to make them easier for people to understand. I used to hate public speaking, but I realized that if I know what I’m talking about, I really like it.” 

This feature appeared in the 2025 Anoka-Ramsey Community Newsletter. Visit our newsletter page to read all stories from the issue and see an archive of past issues.