May 27, 2022
Majoring in Adolescent-to-Young-Adult (AYA) English Education, Shawnee State University’s Bethany Smith (Hometown: Portsmouth, OH) applied her classroom experience to research she presented in the annual Celebration of Scholarship (COS) conference. Her project, based on a linguistic analysis of the non-standard dialect Spanglish, earned her the honor of a Dean’s Award.
“My project was based on a linguistic analysis of the non-standard dialect Spanglish,” said Young. “Specifically attempting to demonstrate through an analysis of phonological and syntactic features how Spanglish is a rule-governed, valid form of human communication that should be respected by all other language users.”
It was a thrill for Smith to see her work recognized with the Dean’s Award.
“To be completely honest, when I chose to participate in Celebration of Scholarship, I had absolutely no expectation that I would be recognized in any way.” said Young. “My goal was just to push myself to learn through a very new - and honestly kind of nerve-racking - experience. Being recognized with the Deans' Award was an unexpected, but incredible thing.”
The Dean’s Awards are chosen based on faculty nominations to the Deans of the College of Professional Studies and the College of Arts & Sciences for outstanding research papers.
“It just really means a lot that something I find so critically important to understand and share with others, and something that I feel so passionate about and have spent so much time trying to understand, has worth to other people too,” she said. “It means so much that something I care so deeply about can add value to the world and that my research can hopefully bring something of value or use to others.”
Smith is grateful for the skills and memories gained throughout her participation in COS. Her mentor, Dr. Leila Lomashvili, was vital in helping her complete her research.
““I spent a lot of time working with my mentor, Dr. Lomashvili, and learned a lot from her guidance through this project,” said Young. “I am incredibly grateful for how much time and energy she invested in helping me learn to not only understand linguistics and the incredible ways that humans communicate through varying forms of language, but also in how to share what I'd learned with other people.”
Smith enjoyed going out and completing field work concerning her studies. She was able to interview a classmate and obtain firsthand experience for her project.
“I think I will always remember the night I sat down with the amazing individual who agreed to let me record an interview with him and use his speech as the primary source for my analysis of Spanglish.,” she said. “I am so grateful for how willing he was to speak with me and for the quality of conversation we had.”
Although the project was time-consuming and strenuous, Smith is grateful that she decided to take part in the university conference.
“If I'm being completely honest, this entire experience was a bit of a wild ride,” she said. “I'm thankful I participated because of how much I've learned through presenting for Celebration of Scholarship. The chance to learn and grow through presenting was the most meaningful thing.”
To learn more about Shawnee State University’s annual Celebration of Scholarship conference, visit shawnee.edu/cos.