Archives for May 2024

Percussion students bring home top honors

May 31, 2024 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Sophomore music performance major Lyndon Wilson and senior music education major Alex Sharkey took top honors at the Missouri Percussive Arts Society College Marimba Competition April 13, 2024, in Columbia, Missouri.

Wilson and Sharkey are both students of Dr. Scott Cameron, associate professor in the Department of Music.

“Several MSU students have competed over the past several years, but Lyndon is the first student to take first place,” Cameron said.

Drawn to percussion from an early age

Wilson and Sharkey both started playing musical instruments as young children.

“I was drawn to percussion because I, like most people, enjoyed hitting things as a small child,” said Sharkey, who plans to be a band director. “I was drawn to the marimba specifically because, in my opinion, it has the most engaging and musically challenging literature of any instrument in the percussion family.”

In addition to being able to play all the percussion instruments, Sharkey is also a classically trained pianist.

Wilson, who plans to earn a Ph.D. in music performance and teach at the university level, was heavily influenced by his family to play percussion instruments.

“Both of my parents were percussionists and so was my oldest brother,” he explained. “However, in college my passion for this instrument family and performing has grown astronomically.”

Young man playing marimba. — Lyndon Wilson during his first place marimba performance.

MSU alum Dayton Chambers gains industry perspective at Game Developers Conference

May 29, 2024 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Recent Missouri State University graduate Dayton Chambers attended the the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, California, March 18-22.

Chambers, who graduated May 2024 with a degree in computer animation, described the experience as “invaluable” because of the information it offered about industry trends, career opportunities and the future of game development.

Conference provides insider perspective

Chambers first learned about the GDC in 2018 from game development friends and knew this was something they wanted to attend one day.

“I always thought of GDC as being one of the best chances of meeting other game developers, learn new skills and technologies and potentially land myself a job,” Chambers explained.

Thanks to a scholarship from Activision, Blizzard and King’s Inclusion in Gaming program, Chambers was awarded an all-access pass to the 2024 conference.

Held in the Moscone Convention Center, the GDC offered a wide variety of learning and networking experiences for attendees, from merchandise and books to round tables and stage events.

An enormous expo hall contained booths “showcasing video games, development tools, and other game related content,” Chambers said.

“I planned out all the talks and events I wanted to attend in advance, along with some breathing room to explore San Francisco,” Chambers said. “I attended most of the animation talks, some LGBTQ+ in gaming talks, some independent game developer talks and so much more.”

Particularly useful to Chambers were the animation roundtables, which provided an insider’s perspective on the industry.

“The animation roundtables…were invaluable for me as an animator trying to break into the game industry,” Chambers explained. “There were animators ranging from students with little to no professional experience to animators with 20+ years of experience in the same room asking and answering questions.”

Sociology major Madeline Cope presents research on teacher attitudes

May 28, 2024 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Junior sociology major Madeline Cope’s first conference was more than just attending a few workshops.

She presented sociology professor Dr. Alicia Walker’s research on “martyrdom mentality” within the K-12 teaching profession at the Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, April 3-6, 2024.

This was Cope’s first time to present at a conference.

“I have felt a range of emotions about presenting, from stress and anxiety to excitement and optimism,” she admitted. “After giving this presentation, however, I entirely feel the latter.”

Cope’s work on the project counts toward her completion of the sociology program’s Social Science Research Certificate. The certificate will facilitate her long-term career goal of becoming a professional social researcher.

Dr. Leslie Baynes appointed inaugural member of Inklings Project

May 23, 2024 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Woman standing by stairs — Dr. Leslie Baynes

Associate professor Dr. Leslie Baynes, of the Department of Languages, Cultures and Religions (LCR) was appointed an inaugural fellow of the Inklings Project for the 2023-2024 academic year.

According to the organization’s website, the Inklings Project is an “intercollegiate initiative that invites people to pursue meaning and joy by entering the world of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and the other Inklings.” Based on this mission, the organization supports faculty who teach courses based on the Inklings and their writings.

Baynes has been a faculty member at Missouri State University since 2005 and has been teaching a course on C. S. Lewis (REL 341) at MSU since 2007. Her book on Lewis, “Incarnation and Imagination: C. S. Lewis and the Bible,” will be published by Eerdmans Publishing Company next year.

MSU group enjoys the “Vita Romana”

May 15, 2024 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Instructor of Classics Dr. Kristin Harper, of the Department of Languages, Cultures and Religions, led a group of 13 Missouri State University students to Rome, Italy, March 10-16, 2024, under a new Education Abroad program.

Students who were interested in the program and had faculty recommendations could enroll in “Vita Romana: Art, Poetry and Cuisine from ancient to modern Rome.”

The program was connected to the International Culture and Study Abroad (IDS 297) and Major Authors in Translation (LLT 296) courses.

The students who enrolled in this inaugural program were Josh Brushwood, Cooper Hays, Jess Zeppenfeldt, Hadley Hicks, Gretchen Lampe, Emily McKenna, Emily Knoppe, Jaden Melnick, Marianne Prax, Julia Walker, Eli Birdsong, Kailey Taylor and Eliot Gudreau.

Immersive learning experiences

“Vita Romana” encouraged students to learn more about the city of Rome and its culture, with a specific focus on its ancient roots, according to Harper.

“Rome is the city that blends so much of the ancient and modern together,” she said. “There is so much history, art and food that is preserved within the city limits.”

For Harper, Rome presented the ideal place for students to explore culture and history in an immersive learning environment.

“We focused on archaeology, art history, poetry, ancient Roman mythology and religion as well as early Christianity, trade routes and economics in the Mediterranean, military expansion and governance, and entertainment, literature and food distribution and production,” Harper said.

Combining immersive learning experiences with traditional assignments helped the students stay focused on these themes.