Front row: Dagny McCrory, Victoria Cortez, Dara Sam, Kaitlyn Liddicoat
Photo by Tim Fuller
The University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film & Television (TFTV) celebrated undergraduate scholarship and critical media studies at the 2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium on May 1 in the Grand Challenges Research Building. Led by Dr. Orquidea Morales, the annual event showcased original research from students exploring themes of horror, queerness, gender and nostalgia across film and television studies.
“URS is a great opportunity for students to share their creative and scholarly ideas with their peers and community at large,” Morales said. “As a first gen faculty member, my favorite part of the event is seeing family members come together with college students to celebrate knowledge production.”
A highlight of this year’s symposium was the keynote address by Dr. Kali Simmons, an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut whose research examines representations of Indigenous peoples in contemporary American horror cinema. Simmons, an enrolled citizen of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, shared insights from her interdisciplinary work in film, media and Indigenous studies, offering students a model for scholarship that bridges critical theory and cultural analysis.
Eight finalists presented their research throughout the day: Victoria Cortez, Laura Corso, Kaitlyn Liddicoat, Lola Martinez, Dagny McCrory, Annie Morrill, Dara Sam and Riley Sato. This year also marked a milestone for the symposium, as Laura Corso became the first Arizona Online student to participate in the event, presenting “Redefining the Horror Film: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014).”
Awards were presented during the closing session, with sophomore Riley Sato earning first prize for “Eat My Discarded Flesh: Transgender Horror and the Body Horror Hell It’s Trapped In,” an impressive achievement for a student so early in their academic career. Annie Morrill received second prize for “Re-Marketing the Queer Film,” while Lola Martinez earned third prize for “The Curse of the Frontier: A Study of Trauma and Inheritance in Outer Range.” Together, the projects reflected the depth and diversity of undergraduate research taking place within TFTV’s film and television studies community.