MADISON — Seven seniors from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh hit the road last week with their faculty mentors to share research findings on a variety of topics with legislators, state leaders and alumni in Wisconsin’s Capitol Rotunda.

The 19th annual Research in the Rotunda showcased the work of undergraduate researchers from across the UW System, which is a national leader in undergraduate research. Scholarly research and creative activities help hone students’ critical thinking skills, improve their information literacy and en-hance their writing and communication skills.

Meagan Leach, a criminal justice and psychology major from Monroe, studied Crime after COVID-19: An Examination of Index Crimes in Winnebago County, with Matthew Richie.

“The main focus of my poster presentation was how COVID-19 impacted criminal activity. My research mentor, Dr. Richie, and I focused on crime within Winnebago County. After we gathered the data that spanned April 2018 through April 2022, we found that robbery, battery, burglary and domestic violence offenses had increased,” Leach said. “During the research period, I realized that I had started to strengthen my reading comprehension and critical-thinking skills. I think that is key, especially within a college classroom environment. I realized that I could understand textbooks and academic journals better after starting this research project.”

Other UWO student researchers include:

●  Yanet Fernandez, a mathematics major with statistics emphasis from Oshkosh

●  Eric Giese, anthropology and geography major from West Bend

●  Catie Gullickson, history major from Oshkosh

●  Joseph Sandy, music composition major from Kaukauna

●  Adam Sobieski, microbiology major from Berlin