Students showcased their research and innovations in the 14th annual Create@State hosted by the student research and creativity development program.

Create@State is a year-long program that allows students to showcase their co-curricular research and scholarly/creative works to judges from various industries, stakeholders, alums, community leaders and administration. 

Over 150 students from eight academic colleges presented. 

“I want this event to be a space where we can all come together and learn about what is happening in the different departments on campus,” Kari Harris said. “Create@State is an opportunity for us to connect with each other and find out what’s happening right here on our campus.”

Harris, director of student research said they revamped the event this year to become more collaborative and cohesive, celebrating research and creative activities on campus.

“We’ve already celebrated student research as part of our event, but this time, the focus is purely on celebration,” Harris said. 

Unlike prior Create@State events, this year’s event was limited to one day with no concurrent sessions. The day began with a showcase of creative activities at the Heritage Plaza Lawn, featuring music, art and student project displays. 

Various departments, like the Department of Communication Studies and the Department of Art + Design, attended the showcase to display their projects. The Honors College and Department of Political Science tabled alongside to recruit, and the Jonesboro Police Department appeared, as did members of the A-State band to play music for guests and students. 

Sarah Mayberry Scott, Ph.D., an assistant professor for the department of communication, joined her students during the creative activities for the Spring 2024 special topic course, Barbie Unboxed.

Her five students displayed independent research projects that looked at the marketing of the Barbie franchise from its inception until contemporary times, the gender expression of the masculine identities from the Barbie film, and the display and portrayal of “otherness” in the Barbie franchise. 

“They (her students) wanted to share their research in this forum,” Scott said. “We’ve got a lot of different types of research being done, but it shows that you can really use something that is interesting and use that as a platform to understand academic research and to conduct academic research.”

Mason Prislovsky, a senior communications major from Portageville, Missouri, is enrolled in the course. His research examined the feminine and masculine spectrum portrayed in the Barbie film, particularly analyzing Allan’s character.

“To me, Allan represents the power of visibility and inclusion, “ Prislovsky said. “His presence in Barbie Land reminds us that even though it’s a fictional realm, it can promote diversity and complexity in our current society.”

Prislovsky said that his research allowed him to reflect on real-world gender norms and the importance of breaking free from strict labels.

“This really spoke to me because it can grant me more opportunities to talk about identity, gender expression and acceptance, which is what we truly need in the world today,” Prislovsky said. 

Later in the day, events included a keynote panel with Chris Jones, Ph.D., and Meredith Adkins, Ph.D., as guest speakers, a student poster presentation and an ice cream social.

To celebrate all the participants and faculty mentors, there was an event at the Johnny Allison Tower at the end of the night, with music, food and mocktails, to commemorate this year’s academic work.

“I wanted to do something special, so participants and their faculty mentors are invited to a party celebration to really culminate the experiences that we’ve had all year and celebrate all the hard work that students have put into their various experiences,” Harris said. 

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