Peninsula College to present annual Honors Symposium
Published 1:30 am Thursday, May 28, 2026
PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College will conduct its Honors Symposium at noon Tuesday in the J-47 meeting room at the Pirate Union Building on the college’s Port Angeles campus, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
The symposium also will stream at https://pencol-edu.zoom.us/j/83403344151.
The annual event celebrates the achievements of the college’s honors students as they present their capstone projects.
This year’s presenters include:
• Brianna Palenik, whose project centers on her original full-length play, “The Hands at Twelve and Twelve.”
Palenik is a Running Start senior who will graduate in June with both her high school diploma and an Associate of Arts degree. She plans to study English and the Humanities at the University of Washington.
In addition to an excerpt from the production, Palenik will reflect on the creative process and what she learned through writing and directing her first original theatrical work.
The college’s drama department will stage performances of Palenik’s play from Friday through June 7.
• Day Robinson will present their project, “The Knowledge Garden: An Indigenous Approach to Plants.”
Robinson’s work explores ethical and relationship-based approaches to plant research, foraging and herbalism through Indigenous methodologies that view plants as relatives, teachers and equals rather than resources.
Blind due to Stargardt disease, Robinson is pursuing an Associate of Science transfer degree and plans to continue studying plant biology and ethnobotany at the University of Washington.
• Aiden Vo will share his project, “A Personalized Closed-Loop EEG Feedback System for Real-Time Attention Monitoring.”
Vo’s work explores ways to make brain-computer interface (BCI) technology more accessible for everyday productivity and learning.
For more information, email Barbara Blackie at bblackie@pencol.edu or Kate Reavey at kreavey@pencol.edu.
