The WVU College of Creative Arts and Media is proud to announce the winners of the 2025 CCAM Exhibit of Mentored Research and Creative Activity.
The Exhibit of Mentored Research and Creative Activity demonstrates the exceptional mentored research work being conducted in the arts and media at WVU. The awards are open to all full-time or part-time WVU faculty or staff and all currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students from the College of Creative Arts and Media.2025 winners
Undergraduate Student - First Place ($750 awarded to the student and $750 to the faculty mentor for professional development)Isaac McCarthy, School of Music; Faculty Mentor: Prof. Joshua Swiger: Everywhere You Were (recording research project)
Undergraduate Student - Honorable Mention ($250 awarded to the student and $250 to the faculty mentor for professional development) Ava Furlow, School of Art and Design; Faculty Mentor: Prof. Michael Sherwin: Microscopic Self-Portraits: Exploring Identity Through Scientific Imaging and Cyanotype (photography research project)
Graduate Student - First Place ($1,000 awarded to the student and $1,000 to the faculty mentor for professional development) Clayton Heath, School of Music; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Katelyn Best: “More Than a Man”: Interpreting Representation of Identity and Belonging in Living Folklore (ethnomusicology, folklore, commission, educational outreach, and performance research project)
Graduate Student - Honorable Mention ($250 awarded to the student and $250 to the faculty mentor for professional development) Kendyl Bostic, School of Art and Design; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Heather Harris: Engaging Preschool Children in Art Museums Through Interactive Programs (master’s thesis)
Collaborative Project – First Place ($1,500 total awarded to the students, split evenly between each student, and $1,500 to the faculty mentor for professional development) Jenna Stewart, Mary Roush, and Zebulon Meyer, Reed School of Media and Communications; Faculty Mentor: Dr. Julia Daisy Fraustino: In a Complex World We Can’t Stand Alone: The PIC Lab’s RMG Hoyer Portfolio (digital media research project)
Collaborative Project – Honorable Mention ($250 awarded to each student and $250 to the faculty mentor for professional development) Kelsey Clodfelter and Claire Davis, School of Art and Design; Faculty Mentor: Prof. Megan Leight: Artful Algorithms: Annotating Ancient Maya Vases for a New AI Detection Model (database and AI program research project)
Congratulations to all students, faculty, and staff who participated in this year’s Exhibit of Mentored Student Research and Creative Activity.