2026 Annual Spring Reception
WGSS students, faculty, and staff gathered on April 24, 2026 in Curl Viewpoint on OSU’s north campus to celebrate the end of the 2025-2026 academic year. The event kicked off with our 2nd Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, where co-faculty instructors, Dr. Neo Chen and Dr. Shannon Winnubst, facilitated research presentations from undergraduate students enrolled in their Spring '26 capstone course. Each student spent about five minutes sharing their research project, what they learned, and posing questions and considerations on the topic. The presentations were followed by a poster session, where guests mingled with students to further discuss and engage with them on their projects.
After a brief intermission, guests reconvened for the Annual Spring Reception programming. WGSS department chair, Dr. Mytheli Sreenivas, welcomed everyone to the program and highlighted many of the department’s most recent accomplishments. We then recognized our 2026 award and grant recipients, as well as our Spring '26 and Summer '26 graduating students.
A special segment was dedicated to honoring the contributions of retiring faculty member, Dr. Linda Mizejewski. Dr. Treva Lindsey, Dr. Shannon Winnubst, and Dr. Mytheli Sreenivas all shared personal stories of Linda, which only scratched the surface on the impact she has brought to our department and the campus community during her many years of service. Linda herself made her way to the front of the room to delight everyone with her gratitude, along with some parting words of wisdom, as we all saw her off to retirement with a standing ovation.
It was a welcomed opportunity to acknowledge our collective work and celebrate the year's accomplishments!
Our grant and award recipients
Barbara & Si Sokol
- Ben Williams, $1,500
- Data Analytics major, LGBTQ+ Studies minor
Common Differences Award
- Kieran Duhl, $100
- WGSS PhD student
- Reem Kadimi-Skalli, $100
- Sociology and Geography majors, Philosophy minor
- Jineen Musa, $100
- Health Sciences major, Spanish minor
Dana Greenblatt Feminist Media Award
- Grace Rana, $3,000
- Marketing and Moving Image Production majors
Graduate Student Research Grant
- Camilla Santos, $2,000
- WGSS PhD student
- Mariana Meriqui Rodrigues, $2,000
- WGSS PhD student
Joellen Thomas Disability Scholarship Writing Award
- Dawson Owens, $100
- WGSS and Psychology majors
Mildred Munday Scholarship
- Amrutha Maganti, $2,000
- WGSS and Sociology majors, Law and Public Policy minor
Patricia Cunningham Appalachian Student Scholarship
- Grace Rana, $500
- Marketing and Moving Image Production majors
Robin Wiehm Writing Award
- Annamarie Jowanoovitz, $100
- Psychology major, LGBTQ+ Studies and Substance Misuse and Addiction minors
Virginia Reynolds Service Award
- Sophie Chu, $100
- WGSS and Industrial Design majors, History of Art minor
Undergraduate Research Symposium
Parker Cline's research examined transitional gynecological healthcare for college-aged adults with a focus on inequities in health care navigation and the role of student health centers in providing such care.
Adrienne Gladish's research investigated the intersection of sex trafficking in contrast to sex work, the Nordic Model, the laws that govern the United States, and our local region of Central Ohio.
Tristen Gulasa's research focuses on how both historical and contemporary expansive views on gender within the lesbian identity work against essentialist and rigid notions of lesbian identity, using discussion from the lesbian erotica magazine On Our Backs as a primary source.
Bhada Han's research explores the South Korean dance cred, 1MILLION, and the appeal to an anti-nationalist, feminist inter-Asian identity is transformed, yet achieved nonetheless upon a mainstream stage.
Katie Johnson's research focused on the various LGBTQ+ archives in the state of Ohio, as well as the sustainability of each archive and what that looks like at various levels.
Piper Midnight's research looks at the use of the term ‘queerbaiting’, how it has changed over time, and how the conversations surrounding this topic are counter-productive.
Jineen Musa's research is a self-reflection, where the self is critically examined as a site for inquiry, reflection, and discovery, shaped through lineage and relation.
Greyson Osterfeld's research asks how daydreaming might be used as a feminist intervention for queer youth in therapeutic settings.
Isa Vigil's research project focused on the representation of unhoused peoples in the media starting in the late 19th century