Grinnellians Showcase Work at Iowa State Digital Scholarship Symposium

Seven Grinnell students, including six Vivero Digital Scholarship Fellows, presented lightning talks at the third annual Iowa State Digital Scholarship Symposium on March 25, 2026. Organized in collaboration with the University of Iowa and Grinnell College, this conference brings together faculty, students, librarians, digital practitioners, and community members to explore how digital methods, tools, and creative practices are transforming research, teaching, and public engagement. This year marked the first symposium featuring student presenters. 

Vivero Fellows Karolina Calleros ‘26, Chikako Inoue ‘26, Valery Mayorga-Garcia ‘26, Kiera Rennick ‘26, Gabriela Roznawska ‘26,  and Morgan Smith ‘26 as well as James Snyder ‘26 presented their work on faculty and staff-led digital projects and made connections with digital scholarship practitioners from around the state. Jane Mertens, library cataloging assistant at Burling Library, also presented as part of a panel entitled “Public Digital Arts and Humanities: Community Impact Through Digital Projects.” 

The Vivero Fellowship is an opportunity at Grinnell that seeks to grow the diversity of the digital liberal arts community at Grinnell and beyond. It was launched in summer 2017 with the support of an Innovation Fund Pilot Program grant and is currently a joint effort supported by the Digital Liberal Arts Collaborative and the Libraries. As Vivero Fellows, students work receive training and mentorship in the digital liberal arts field while also completing project-based work in collaboration with faculty, staff, and other students at the college. 

Morgan Smith, a Vivero Fellow and presenter, presented on the Laetitia Moon Conard Legacy Project, a Vivero project focused on remembering and preserving the significant work done by Laetitia Moon Conard, a woman who taught at the College, but whose legacy as an advocate for women’s suffrage, participant in peace movements, and commitment to politics and social change, has long been overlooked. Specifically, Smith’s work focused on conducting accessibility audits for the website as a model for creating accessible digital history projects more broadly. As Smith shared, this work is particularly important today, as many universities are currently evaluating and improving the accessibility of their websites and digital offerings due to Title II compliance dates approaching soon, and recent lawsuits against universities regarding the inaccessibility of their websites.

Regarding their participation in the symposium, Smith also shared “As a graduating senior and incoming MLIS student at the University of Iowa, attending the Iowa State Digital Scholarship Symposium was a great opportunity to connect with peers and future faculty members as part of my preparation for graduate school after Grinnell.”

Snyder used the symposium as an opportunity to share their work created as the Social Media and Communications Specialist for Grinnell Cross Country and Track & Field. His work highlighted both the strategy and execution behind his largest recent project as the Social Media : building a centralized digital hub to archive quarterly newsletters, preserve team history, and showcase the student-athlete experience at Grinnell.

Snyder shared “I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Ames to present alongside other cool Grinnellians with awesome projects. A huge shoutout and thank you to the whole Digital Liberal Arts Collaborative at Grinnell for their work and for making this trip happen. Presenting my digital media scholarship was such a fun experience that I look forward to building upon in the future!”

The College formally congratulates these outstanding students and staff for their impactful work in digital scholarship. Their commitment to creating and disseminating research through venues such as Iowa State’s Digital Scholarship Symposium sets a high standard for academic excellence and collaborative innovation in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.