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One of the best parts of being involved in research and creative scholarship is getting to share your projects! Presenting is a big part of being a scholar, and we are excited to celebrate some of our incredible students at the annual Research and Creative Activities Symposium (RaCAS) on April 25, 2025. 

Not sure what a symposium is? We’ve got you covered with this intro video explaining the process! RaCAS is open to both graduate and undergraduate students at all stages of their projects. It is a welcoming place to learn how to present, connect with other scholars, or get started learning about research. Don’t take our word for it though, read on to hear from three CU Denver students who started presenting their projects at CU Denver and then went on to both national and international conferences! Their top tips:

• Before presenting: Reach out to your mentor to let them know you’re wanting to present. Talk to other people who have presented to hear their experiences. Practice by sharing your presentation with friends and family who aren't familiar with the topics.
• When you’re at the conference: Know your talking points such as your results. Take a second to smile, pause, and breathe as you gather your thoughts. Talk to as many people as possible to pick their brains and get their ideas.
  

Meet the Student Presenters:

Will Leary focuses on the heavy metal tolerance and symbiotic relationship between mycorrhizal fungi and trees, where they exchange nutrients and carbohydrates. Will has presented at RaCAS twice and at the annual Mycological Society of America Conference in Toronto, Canada.

Maleeha Shah is looking at maternal healthcare in the US; one of the papers she recently collaborated on explores perinatal mood disorders. After presenting a few times at CU Denver, Maleeha presented at the American Sociology Association Conference in Montreal, Canada and the American Public Health Association Conference in Minneapolis.

Piper Malczewski uses applied physics to study electricity and carbon-based nanomaterials to eventually incorporate into solar cells for better efficiency in usage, harvest, or storage. Piper has presented at RaCAS, the Summer Research Symposium, and recently with the American Physical Society conference in Washington, D.C.

How has presenting at conferences been for you?

Will Leary: RaCAS has always been great because it's relaxed; you’re interacting with people that you know, and it's a very familiar environment. It's a great introduction to practice for real conferences. I was able to do RaCAS twice before going to the international conference.

The international conference in Toronto was definitely a bit more stressful because there were multiple factors. I had to apply for several grants to pay my way. It was great I was able to get a lot of help through CU Denver, but applying for grants can be stressful.

Getting there was great and actually presenting was awesome because in my study of mycology, people are just so accepting, friendly, and willing to help you advance as a researcher rather than critique or be very condescending of your work as a beginner. It was great meeting all these great mycologists that everyone in the field knows. They're very famous, but very kind to you and know that you're just getting started in this field. It was just awesome to learn from them and get their tips. 

Maleeha Shah: Having these conference experiences was really nice getting to see how much work people have done and where their work might lead. As a Public Health student, getting to talk to other students and see what projects are being developed was a really interesting experience. 

I saw a lot of researchers who had undergrad research assistants. I thought it was really interesting to see the relationships they had built. I'm very fortunate to have a research mentor who does an amazing job guiding me and has taken me under her wing and allowed me to learn so much about public health that would not have been covered under my degree.

Piper Malczewski: For me personally, talks are always so much more intimidating than a poster, so I lean towards a poster. But it's so important to be able to have that public speaking ability so I try to put myself out there to take those opportunities. I was incredibly nervous for APS. There were maybe 30 people in the room and our special keynote speaker was world-renowned astrophysicist and science communicator, Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi. So that was incredibly nerve wracking for me. 

For that time, you might be the expert in the room on the specific stuff that you're talking about. Have faith in that. There were several times where I thought to myself, “I cannot do this.” And there were several times I almost got up and was like “I can't do it, I gotta go.” And I did it and I got through it, and I did fantastic, and I got a lot of really good feedback on it. 

What tips do you have for presenting?

Maleeha Shah: Reach out to your mentor asking them, “Hey, I'm thinking of saying this” or “I don't know if I'm on the right track” or “can you look over this” and get their guidance.

Talk to other people who have presented at conferences; for me that was one of the biggest forms of support I received. I was a little bit hesitant about bringing a poster on a plane, but I was in the EURēCA! Summer Fellows Program, so asking people who went to conferences about their experiences helped me be better prepared to go to these conferences, present research, and talk about these kinds of things as well.

Will Leary: RaCAS is great preparation if you're doing a larger conference. For students doing RaCAS for the first time, just take a deep breath. No one's there to be mean to you. It's all there for fun, and you can be happy to show people what you've been doing because you worked really hard for this. Just remember that everyone else there is in a very similar position to you, so don't freak out over it. If you're doing scientific research like I am, know exactly what your results are and what those results can mean for your discussion or conclusions. And if you're able to really solidify that, you can do everything else.

For national conferences or international conferences, I think what's really important is meeting people in the same field as you if you're interested in that field. Talk to as many people as possible, pick their brains and get their ideas. You want to be listening more than talking. 

Piper Malczewski: If you're feeling nervous for talks, know that everybody feels that way. Have faith in your ability to speak, and that you know what you're talking about, you've been working on this stuff, you know it. One thing that helps me is just taking a second to smile and pause and breathe, I think that's huge. Just gather your thoughts for a moment. Externally, people can't tell when you're taking a pause. 

Definitely practice, practice, practice and get as many people as you can to listen to you. Posters are a blast. If you're feeling nervous about posters, practice talking with friends and family that aren't familiar with the topics. That's how I was able to get over the nerves of poster presentations. But really, poster presentations are just a discussion. They're an opportunity for you to talk about the awesome work that you've been doing and an opportunity for ideation and innovation to happen.

Interested in sharing your research or creative projects with the CU Denver Community? Working in a research group, writing a compelling paper in class, developing a research question, want to give a performance, working on a film, or have an art series to showcase? Share it at RaCAS! Registration to present closes March 21—find all details on the RaCAS Website, and get it on your calendar. 

Have any questions? We’re here to help you feel ready! Come by drop-in hours, RaCAS events, or book 1-on-1 advising in Handshake. You can email undergrad.research@ucdenver.edu or call 303-315-4000.