By 
By: DAVID PALMER
Staff Writer
In college, more exposure is always a good thing, and that is no secret at the IU South Bend Undergraduate Research Conference (URC).
With an emphasis on highlighting the academic accomplishments of IU South Bend students the conference “showcase[s] the vitality of student scholarship on campus and encourage its future growth,” according to the IU South Bend website.
The conference kicked off bright and early Friday morning with students and faculty members alike wandering Wiekamp Hall chatting and enjoying snacks and refreshments and perusing posters hung by student researchers to exhibit their work. Waiting for the first of a series of presenters and speakers, one could get a full grip on the kind of stellar work being produced by IU South Bend students.
But this is not all that the conference does.
Sure, the URC highlights and honors the exemplary work of extraordinary students who have dedicated much time and energy to their fields, but it does so much more for IU South Bend as a whole. With great work on display throughout the conference, the URC really highlights how far IU South Bend has come since its inception.
The URC stands alone as a way to show the masses the kind of dedication to craft and quality that is commonplace at IU South Bend. But beyond that, the conference marks an occasion in which the core values of IU South Bend are put on full display.
The presentations given by student participants show, in vivid detail, the kind of discipline and concern that goes into such lofty endeavors, and that stands to represent IU South Bend for what it is today: A small, personal university with all the charm of the Midwest and a talent and passion for learning on par with the best this country has to offer.
From English to mathematics, poetry to prose, the URC is a daylong festival of the mind. Throughout the afternoon the excellence on display in Wiekamp Hall is a stunning microcosm of what IU South Bend has to offer as a place to learn, a place to grow, and a place to better oneself.
It does not take genius to see that a perfect college experience awaits anyone attending IU South Bend but at the Undergraduate Research Conference they are on hand just in case.
