Learn, Create Showcase: Symposium Highlights Student Talent
May 8, 2026
- Author
- Mary Elizabeth DeAngelis
There was mariachi in the morning and jazz in the afternoon. Drum, piano, and orchestra music also entertained crowds gathered May 7 as Davidson College celebrated the artistic and academic talents of its students.
Students, faculty, staff and visitors donned rain jackets and umbrellas to slosh across campus for the annual Verna Miller Case Research and Creative Works Symposium, one of the college community’s favorite events.
Musicians took over the Alvarez College Union building, which also served as this year’s venue for a community lunch. Academic buildings offered space for scientific research talks, play readings and poster demonstrations.
The symposium showcases the diverse array of student interests across the many disciplines of a liberal arts college. The Belk Visual Arts Center, for example, hosted a display of student art that included impressive work from not only art majors, but also those whose majors range from math and economics to biology and environmental sciences.
A crowd gathered as a team of students, Stef Wojcik, Henry Russell and Thalie Waters unveiled the off-road vehicle they built, then cheered as it came to life. After the team explained technical, mathematical and scientific details of their project, Russell ’26, a physics major, summed it up simply:
“Being able to do something like this is so cool.”
College President Doug Hicks welcomed the crowd during the traditional community lunch.
These future Wildcats made a rainy day splash in their Davidson finery.
The symposium's namesake Verna Miller Case and family members.
