42 Research Reflection by Chris Jun

Faculty Mentor: Allison Segal (Writing & Rhetoric, University of Utah, Asia Campus)

My first symposium experience was the IGC Undergraduate Research Symposium organized by a establishment of international branch universities (one of those universities being University of Utah Asia!). It was my freshman year and I was intrigued with the variety of topics and research methods discussed. People shared their passionately driven research and asked questions on their findings. It was an inspiring experience and I, to this day, feel very passionate about the sharing of projects and academic research. This Spring semester, I had the opportunity in one of my writing and rhetoric courses to work on a group symposium presentation on social issue analysis of genders and video games. We’ve collectively expressed interests on Judith Butler’s book _Gender Trouble_ and the findings that would be found in different game genres. This began my undergraduate research experience: developing on Butler’s gender performativity and heterosexual matrix, writing on analyses of dating simulators and their history, and finally, designing a poster presentation with my group. After our presentations were fully developed, written, and designed, we eagerly presented our work at the Spring 2024 IGC Undergraduate Research Symposium. It’s after our research and successful presentations at the symposium that I’ve been given the guidance to publish my paper to this journal. The experience has tested my research, analysis, writing, and presenting skills in an invaluable group and public symposium. Using early participation in the research community, I aim to open more doors for growth in academic skill and research. I owe to my faculty advisor Allison Segal for their guidance in my group symposium presentation and submission to this journal. And my two co-presenters Osiris Rhoades and Olivia Conrad, I grateful for their collaboration in our symposium project.