The Applied Intercultural Arts Research GIDP would like to recognize and congratulate Gabby Wen, AIAR Doctoral Student, for placing 2nd in the 2023 Grad Slam event for her presentation titled Creative Aging for Older Adults Living with Dementia! Gabby is the first AIAR student to participate in the event and be selected as one of only six finalists.
Grad Slam is an annual event co-hosted by the UArizona Graduate Center and the Graduate & Professional Student Council which gives graduate students at the University of Arizona an opportunity to present their research for a chance to win up to $3000. Each student is required to put together a 3-minute presentation on their innovative research to showcase for a group of selected judges. Out of all applicants, only six finalists are then selected to participate in live presentations in front of UArizona faculty, staff, peers as well as the judges for final consideration.
This event provides students with essential experience in creatively showcasing their research in a concise manner as well as public speaking. Gabby is an international student who values opportunities such as these to work on public speaking especially for those who are not native English speakers. She mentions, "As someone who English is not their first language, sometimes when speaking, I feel tongue tied or take longer to convey my thoughts than a native English speaker. I thought this could be a great opportunity to step out of my comfort zone to push myself within such a short period of time to practice my public speaking."
Although students are only able to present for 3-minutes, the preparation is an extensive process and a tough challenge for students like Gabby who have been dedicating and collecting years of research. Gabby says, "I spent about a whole month preparing. I first started with the Grad Slam website to learn more about how to make my presentation attractive, proper body language when public speaking, how to make your speech more succinct, and much more. I then started to develop a script to work towards limiting the whole thing to 3-minutes". Gabby mentions her best advice for other students considering participating in the future is to not neglect their preparation and practice, practice, practice.
This experience is rewarding for most students not only to develop new skills but to also build confidence and share their passion for their research. "I especially feel a sense of power as the only person who was a non-english speaker and the only international student in the arts. Emotionally and psychologically, I've showed myself and learned I can do this! This experience has encouraged me to present more and confidently in the future", Gabby says.
The full video to Gabby's finalist presentation on "Creative Aging for Older Adults Living with Dementia" can be found below:
For more information and media from this years Grad Slam event, please visit the UArizona Graduate Center website.