Drew’s annual event spotlights its students, develops skills
April 2026 – Drew University’s annual Day of Scholars and Action Scholars Town Hall put student research and volunteer projects on display.
Posters lined the halls and rooms of the Ehinger Center as students presented scholarly research and community projects to peers, professors, and members of the Drew community.
“I was really grateful to be part of Day of Scholars, not only because I got to connect with such a diverse group of people across different fields, but also because I had the opportunity to present two of my research projects,” said Alexa Santillan C’26.
Santillan presented on her chemistry capstone passion project on how AI is shaping the way chemistry is taught and learned, and her research on introducing an analytical chemistry approach into an organic lab to quantify water content in tetrahydrofuran and it’s impact on samarium diiodide reactions.
“It was inspiring to see how much effort and passion everyone brought to their work,” she added. “You could truly feel how proud people were to share what they had accomplished!”
First-year Action Scholars, who engage in civic engagement projects as part of a two-year program and receive a four-year scholarship, showcased their community engagement research projects, gaining valuable presenting skills in the process.
“As a psychology major going into research, this experience opened up my eyes to how much work and how much grit actually goes into research and things that change universities, schools, and the communities,” said Nadia Yusko C’29. “I don’t think I realized before this experience how much work people actually did for things like this. It was an amazing experience because of that.”
“It’s a lot of work and I’ve never done a big research project like this before,” added Z James C’29. “It was very interesting and eye-opening. It’s really fun to see everyone else’s research and talk about these important topics.”
