The Impact Center
Collaborative research is widely and increasingly recognized as a high-impact educational practice, and the RAD conference is one of the more visible examples of Webster's commitment to this important aspect of student scholarship. Faculty, students and administrators are encouraged to attend RAD conference sessions in order to support students and recognize the hard work that has gone into their projects.
[Subtle Electronic music plays]
[Footage of students and instructors gathered in the University Center with several poster presentations]
Text on screen: Webster University: Research Across Disciplines (RAD)
Student Nick K.: RAD or the Research Across Disciplines conference is a conference that we bring in students, and occasionally we bring in professors, to talk about their research. Getting in front of a crowd can be really scary, but after the first couple of times that I've personally done it, it's a lot easier. It gives public speaking experience for sure.
[Footage of a student presenting a research study in front of a crowd]
Student Dashauna M.: Webster is really good at having you present in front of people, so it wasn't bad at all because it's like they prepare you, whether it's in front of the staff or in front of your peers.
[Footage of Dashauna presenting a research project about bacteriophages in front of a crowd]
Student Muaz M.: I stepped out of my comfort zone. You can experiment. You can try things out. It would greatly improve on your personal life, as well as your professional life.
[Footage of Muaz showing a graphic design case study in front of a crowd]
[Footage of a student and professor talking about a poster presentation]
Student Michael H.: I think RAD is a wonderful way to get people to talk about what they do. I feel like if you do not have the ability to communicate, either being your sciences or your art, you aren't going to be able to really go far in your career. And RAD is a great way to get people to learn how to do that.
[Footage of Michael presenting in front of an audience]
[Footage of a student giving an individual poster presentation to a professor]
[Footage of three students speaking on a panel in front of an audience]
Text on screen: Webster University, webster.edu/impact-center
[screen fade to black]
Assistant Director, Impact Center
RAD Committee: Mary Lai Preuss, from left, Lindsay McDaniels Swearingen, Sarah McMullin, Robert Ross and Erin Goedereis.
Join us for Spring RAD 2025 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 2. This is an opportunity for undergraduate, graduate, domestic and international students from Webster's campuses to showcase their research and accomplishments.
BA in Political Science, Minor in Sports Journalism, '20
Michael Langston is a Webster alum who has created his own career path in St. Louis sports. Originally from the St. Louis area, he graduated from Maplewood Richmond Heights High School in 2017, where he played baseball and was involved with the theatre program.
At Webster, he joined The Galaxy Radio, first as an on-air host of a sports rundown show, and then later as its Promotions, Sports and finally General Manager.
Also at Webster, he served in Student Government, eventually becoming the Sergeant at Arms. Langston was also a member of Sigma Iota Rho, Webster College Democrats, Sports Writer for the Webster Journal and the Sports Analytics Club, and he was a Gorlok Guide. While a student at Webster he began his journey in sports when he started with the Cardinals in 2019 as the Radio Booth Assistant, working on game days with broadcasting greats like Mike Shannon and John Rooney.
During COVID, this role expanded greatly, and led him to be recruited to join KMOX as a producer and board operator for the live sports broadcasts and shows. In 2022, Langston was promoted to the role of Production Coordinator, where he works in scoreboard operations scheduling crews of up to 25 people for every home game, amateur game and special event at Busch Stadium. He also spearheads radio and streaming advertising creation for the team, is heavily involved in archiving past broadcasts, administrative needs for the Cardinals Creative department, on-site audio and scoreboard operator for Cardinals Fantasy Camp, and handler of distribution of the two in-house shows the Cardinals produce. In addition, he is also a radio engineer and producer for team and Spanish broadcasts, namely for the Cubs, Pirates, Reds, St. Louis Battlehawks, St. Louis City SC in Spanish, Los Cardenales en Español and the Montreal Canadiens. He loves Webster for many reasons, and teaches the Sports Broadcasting courses offered through the School of Communications, but probably best of all is the familial connections: his younger brother, Matthew, is currently President of SGA, his grandmother Eugenia taught English back when Webster was called Loretto College, and he met his girlfriend, Angela, in Priest House (the room that's painted Pepto Bismol pink).
As part of Commerce Bank's Strategic Planning team, Keynote speaker Alejandra Berra consults with executive and senior leaders across the bank to engrain innovation to their business strategy and ultimately ensure the bank is helping customers focus on what matters most. She leads the bank’s effort to understand the role of digital assets, embedded banking and other disruptive innovation and the impact to traditional finance. She plays an active role in developing strategic relationships with FinTechs in order to drive growth and innovation across multiple areas of the bank.
She has been with Commerce for 15 years and has held several roles across its retail, commercial and wealth segments. Berra has been a champion for inclusion and diversity within Commerce Bank and is one of the co-founders of Commerce Bank’s Women’s Employee Resource Group called RISE. She is a member of the board of directors for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Regional Business Council’s Mentor Network, YPN Leadership 100 inductee and was also recognized as one of St. Louis Business Journal 40 Under 40.
Master of Business Administration (MBA), ’12
Keynote speaker Dr. Gabriel Cervantes has been an educator for nearly 20 years. During his career, he has served at the elementary, middle and high school levels teaching general education, mathematics and theater arts courses as well as serving as an administrator. As a Gorlok alum, he was an active member of the Webster University community as a resident assistant, student ambassador, Student Government Association representative and the Forensics team competitor. He is currently working as a middle school theater director for Rockwood School District, where he has built up programs in multiple schools by building a strong community of teachers, students and parents, while raising over $25,000 in fundraising efforts to upgrade the program’s technical infrastructure.
BEd in Elementary Education and Teaching, ’05
The Impact Center hosted the fall Student Showcase: Research Across the Disciplines conference. A total of 37 presenters gathered in the University Center, covering diverse topics from Biology to Finance. The event featured oral presentations, a poster session and a reception following the Keynote Speaker address.
BSc in Psychology, ’18
