2022 University Libraries Undergraduate Research Award Winners Announced

Interim Dean of University Libraries and Professor Michael Crumpton presented the 2022 University Libraries Undergraduate Research Award (ULURA) to Krista Savage-White and Luiz Francisco Guizzo Gutierrez Osorio on April 26 at the Provost Student Excellence Awards ceremony. The award focuses on the ability of a student to locate, select and synthesize information from library resources for the creation of an original research project or paper. The University Libraries’ vast collection of e-books, online access to journals and other publications help shape much of the research completed by the current student winners.

Savage-White’s winning project, “Finding the North Star Podcast,” was centered on issues concerning Black Americans. The process took more than 300 hours of creation, 163 sources and nine months to complete. From pre-production to post-production, Savage-White used the resources available in the library, specifically in the Digital Media Commons (DMC), to complete her project. These resources included two multi-media workshops, taught by DMC Multimedia Instruction Coordinator Paula Damasceno, on the ins and outs of audio recording and how to edit them, as well as the podcast station and online databases like JSTOR, ProQuest and Wiley. These are just a few of the resources available to students, faculty and staff at the University Libraries. “Although there was an abundance of research on historical topics such as slavery and racial injustice, it was still important to incorporate news sources to attract a wider audience,” said Savage-White.

“It was important to practice research ethics and write an original script to the best of my ability.”

Osorio’s winning project, “Losing Minds and Hearts: Ideology, Education, and the Development of Youth,” focused on youth culture and resistance under the Nazi regime during the 1930s. In his search for primary resources, Osorio used the online databases at University Libraries to research his project, which led him to the online portals of Holocaust museums in Washington, DC and Brazil, as well as national libraries in Portugal and Spain. “This whole experience has taught me many lessons. Before, I had a childish aversion to e-books and digital,” said Osorio.

“Ever since, I have not only learned to use and appreciate these resources, but also became adept in e-reading devices.”

The winners received a $500 cash prize, which was generously funded by Kathryn M. Crowe and Dr. David M. Crowe. Kathryn, a retired librarian from UNCG and David, a retired professor of history and law from Elon University, spent their careers working with undergraduates on research projects. They are delighted to have the opportunity to support, encourage and reward students in their endeavors. Both award-winning projects have been added to UNCG’s institutional repository, NC DOCKS.