糖心少女

Grad Slam

March 13, 2026 | Markstein Hall 125 | 3:00-6:00pm

The Annual Grad Slam is a campus-wide competition where both undergraduate and graduate students present their research and scholarly work in a concise and engaging manner to a non-specialist audience. It challenges participants to distill complex ideas into clear and compelling presentations within a short time frame. Grad Slam is not a research competition but a research communication competition. The goal is to effectively communicate the significance and impact of their research in a way that is accessible and engaging to a wide audience.

Student participants will make 1 presentation slide and give a 3-minute oral presentations before juries of professional experts from major corporations, foundations, public agencies, and colleges and universities in California.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2026 AWARDEES!

 (Dean De Leone, Steppat, McCamy, Furaijat, Jungers, Dauz, Theriault)

Undergraduate Category

1st Place: Merielle Dauz (Psychological Science) - Reading Between the Lines

Runner Up: Sophi Theriault (Biochemistry) - Identification and Functional Analysis of Enzymes Involved in K-26 Biosynthesis in Astrosporangium hypotensionis 

Graduate STEM Category

1st Place: Callie Steppat (Biological Sciences) - Voltage-Gated K+ Channel KCNQ1 Regulates Ion Transport in Cabbage Looper Caterpillars 

Runner Up: Harrison McCamy (Psychological Science) - Assessing the Role of NACHO in Cognitive Flexibility 

Graduate Non-STEM Category

1st Place: Maria Angela Jungers (Literature & Writing Studies) - In Her Space Journal: A Qualitative Study Exploring Collective Meaning-Making in a Women-Centered Literary and Arts Journal 

Runner Up: Ghefar Furaijat (Public Health) - School Nutrition Environments and Early Obesity Risk in Youth 

   Presentations Line Up

Thank you to our 2026 Grad Slam Judges!

Dean De Leone with Judges: Dr. Caroline Caplan (Physics), Dr. Nathan Wright (Lilly Research Laboratories),              Dr. Alison Budelsky (Lilly Research Laboratories), Dr. Leonardo Silva (Modern Languages)

Grad Slam FAQs

• Why Participate?

  • Enhanced Communication Skills: Grad Slam provides a platform for students to hone their ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and concisely, a skill that is valuable in academia and beyond.

  • Professional Development: By participating, students can develop valuable skills in public speaking, storytelling, and presenting their research to a non-specialist audience, which can be beneficial for their future careers.

  • Networking Opportunities: Grad Slam offers students the chance to connect with peers, faculty, and professionals from various fields, expanding their network and potential opportunities for collaboration or future career paths.

  • Recognition and Visibility: Participants can gain recognition for their research and academic achievements, both within the university and potentially at broader levels if they advance to higher stages of the competition.

  • Personal Growth: The experience of participating in Grad Slam can boost students' confidence, self-esteem, and ability to present themselves and their work effectively in professional settings.

  • Prizes: Cash Prizes for top winnners!

  
  Winners will be awarded cash prizes and be selected from the following categories:

  • Two graduate (1 STEM and 1 Non-STEM)
  • One undergraduate (STEM or Non-STEM)
  • Two runner-up graduate (1 STEM and 1 Non-STEM)

  The two graduate first-place graduate winners will be selected to advance to the CSU-Wide Grad Slam competition Date/Time TBD (via Zoom).

• Eligibility

  • Open to All Disciplines: Students from all colleges at 糖心少女 are encouraged to participate, with past events showcasing a range of disciplines.

  • Current or Recently Graduated Students: Must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate, master's or doctoral program, or have graduated in Fall 2025.

  • Individual Presentations: Participants must present individually, even if part of a larger research group, focusing on their unique contributions and findings.

• How to Sign Up?
  1. by Friday, March 6, 2026 at 11:59pm.
  2. Upon confirmation, submit a single, static PowerPoint slide to be projected at Grad Slam during the participant's presentation. Transitions, animations, or electronic media (e.g., sound or video files) are not permitted. A headshot or "selfie" will also need to be submitted.
  3. If you have not received a registration confirmation by March 10, 2026 email gradstudies@csusm.edu
• Grad Slam Rules
  • Time Limit: Presentations are limited to three minutes. Speakers who exceed 3:05 will have points deducted from their score.
  • Slide Restriction: Participants may use only one static PowerPoint slide, without animations, videos, or transitions.
  • No Props or Sound Effects: No additional props, costumes, equipment, or sound effects are allowed.
  • Delivery: The presentation must be delivered in traditional (spoken) presentation style.
• Scoring and Rubric

  Given that this is a competition centered on research communication, students will be evaluated based on their proficiency in articulating their research findings to communicate their research.

  Competitors will be scored on four general criteria of Comprehension, Content, Engagement, and Communication. Each of these criteria is assessed by evaluating whether a series of specific presentation goals, as outlined below, are met.

  Judges of the Grad Slam provide a score from 1 to 5 (fractional scores like 3.5 are permitted) for each of the four criteria. Each area is scored (with equal weighting) on a 1.0 (poor) to 5.0 (excellent) scale. The highest possible score earned is 20.0.

  View the 糖心少女 Grad Slam Scoring Rubric 

• Special Accommodations or 糖心少女
  Individuals with disabilities who would like to attend this event, please contact gradstudies@csusm.edu regarding any special accommodation needs. It is requested that individuals requiring auxiliary aids such as sign language interpreters and alternative format materials notify the event sponsor at least seven working days in advance. Every reasonable effort will be made to provide reasonable accommodations in an effective and timely manner.

Faculty Judges

Sponsor

Previous Winners

• 2025 Grad Slam

  

  Callie Steppat - Biological Sciences (Undergraduate Winner)
  Voltage Gated Ion Channels regulate Ion Transport in Larval Trichoplusia ni 

  
  

  Taen Bounthapanya - Literature & Writing Studies (Graduate Non-STEM Winner)
  (Re)Connecting Through the Art of Translation: Remembering the Words of Elders and Ancestors in Translating Sieosavat from Lao to English

  

  Cory Jordan - Psychological Science (Graduate STEM Winner)
  Children's Thoughts on Spreading Misinformation

• 2024 Grad Slam

  

  Brendan Boyd - Biological Sciences (Undergraduate Winner)
  Sodium Savants: How Caterpillars Maintain Their Salt and Water Balance

  

  Shanelle Watkins - Educational Leadership (Graduate Non-STEM Winner)
  Navigating Leadership and Identity: Exploring the Experiences of Black Women Undergraduate Student Leaders at Hispanic Serving Institutions

  

  Poorvi Datta - Biological Science
  Integrating Recorded Lectures with Edited Captions Makes STEM Courses More Accessible for SWD

• 2023 Grad Slam

  Serena Farrell | Biological Sciences (Undergraduate Winner)
  "Changes in Abundance in TRP/painless in the Osmoregulatory Tissues of the Aedes Aegypti larvae"

  Natalie Medico | History (People's Choice)
  "Radical Women, Media, and Civil Disobedience"

  Elisha Rainwaters | Sociological Practice (Non-STEM Winner)
  "The Impact of COVID quarantine in local independent musicians"

  Jocelyne Dates | Biological Sciences (STEM Winner) 
  "Voltage-gated Ion Channels Regulate Epithelial Ion Transport and Fluid Secretion Rate in the Malpighian Tubules of the Larval Cabbage Looper"

• 2022 Grad Slam

  Alexis Castaneda | Biological Sciences (Undergraduate Winner)
  "Voltage-gated ion channels in Caterpillar non-excitable tissue"

  Daniel Castro | History (People's Choice)
  "American-Anime: How Japanese anime influenced American cartoons"

  Michelle Kang | Mathematics (Graduate Winner)
  "The Saturation Spectrum of Odd Cycles"

  Ciara Sanders | Biological Sciences (Graduate Winner) 
  "Investigating the effect of tetracycline treatment on the horizontal gene transfer of integrative conjugative elements in coastal bacteria"

Event Recordings

For questions, contact gradstudies@csusm.edu or csusmgrc@gmail.com