Hi, my name is Jonathan Chin, and this is my first semester at Springfield Technical Community College. I am currently taking prerequisite science classes to apply to either Medical School or Physician Assistant School. I attended and participated in STCC’s Celebration of Student Work event. The highlights of the event was the panel discussion on Renewable Energy by four distinguished UMASS professors and an exhibition of STCC student’s work exhibition. It was a special day for me since my dad participated and I made him proud.
I was surprised to see that the auditorium was full of excited students. The event started with a gracious welcome by our college President Cook. He drew attention to STCC’s rich array of program offerings and services. He reminded us of USA commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The panel discussion was about Renewable Energy presented by UMass professors. Dr. Timothy Randhir explained that to keep global warming to no more than 1.5°C, as called for in the Paris Agreement, emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. Hence this global renewable energy transition and energy efficiency is urgent and vital. He explained that the top 5 renewable energy were solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and hydropower.
Dr. David King conveyed that current energy sources are non-sustainable. I was fascinated to learn that some bird populations benefited from solar panels! The next speaker was Amanda Klehr who explained that the renewable energy industry has diverse career opportunities. The last speaker was Dr. David Bloniaz, who is also a STCC alum, shared that STCC is the best college in the area. He shared the importance of urban forests. I understood how planting trees in the city help with reducing energy consumption.
After the talk we proceeded to the gymnasium where STCC student exhibits were displayed. There were 55 research posters, tables of artwork, models, class projects, digital media presentations, demonstrations and more. STCC students stood proudly in front of their research posters to discuss their research findings. The Gym was jam packed with STCC and high school students, friends, family, and faculty. My research topic was on Artificial Intelligence Powered Precision for Diabetes Diagnosis. I presented the potential of AI for healthcare providers to improve the speed and accuracy of diabetes diagnosis, enabling early intervention and personalized treatment strategies. It was cool to witness all the hard work everyone put into their research topics! One poster that stood out was on Vertigo since my dad had suffered from it in the past. It was motivating to share my findings with the other students and to see their level of excitement.
The event ended with everyone enjoying pizza, cookies and chips accompanied by lots of laughter and having a fun time. Our college mascot Rowdy came skipping in and got everyone dancing to the Chacha slide. I was honored to be one of the winners in the Research Poster contest. I am already looking forward to next year’s event. I am proud to be a STCC student as this is the first huge STCC event where I was able to meet so many new people and learn so much! Thank you to our speakers, STCC faculty, students, and especially Dr. Randhir for hosting an amazing and memorable event.
