Many students this week are still trying to find seeds of wisdom planted by professors from before the amnesia-inducing spring break. But graduate students at Penn State are deep in the harvest season, prepping to display the fruits of their labors starting today at the Nineteenth Annual Graduate Exhibition.

The event is an effort for graduate students to share their work with the public and compete for cash awards. Marilyn Engle, a publicist for the graduate school, said diversity is displayed in the student's efforts.

"There are more than 100 unique areas of study covered this year," Engle said. "Students give presentations about their research in terms a general audience would understand."

Engle, who has been involved with the exhibition for four years, encourages students interested in graduate study to attend the event, which serves as an opportunity to talk to people currently involved in their field. Besides the myriad of scholarly research that will be displayed Sunday in the poster exhibition, Engle said the event's live performances are equally captivating.

"[It's] a great way for students to enjoy an evening of live performances by top-notch performers who happen to be our grad students," Engle said.

The event kicks off with a performance exhibition by students in the areas of music, dance and theater. Graduate student in composition theory Jason Fick will perform his piece, titled "The Ocean's Gifts," named to honor childhood memories of a Maryland beach. Fick said he views the exhibition as a way to gain exposure for his unique brand of music (he mixes guitar with a Chinese lute in his piece), while garnering experience for further endeavors in his field.

"As graduate students, we border between the professional and the student," Fick said. "We are expected to gain experience while still studying. [This] is one way for music performers and composers to gain recognition and the experience that will not only help them grow as musicians, but enhance their résumé."

Scholars commonly struggle when relating material back to the mass population, which is why exhibits are partially judged on their ability to present their message clearly. When Patricia Howard entered her photography exhibit "We Mostly Just Sit" into the visual arts exhibition, she encountered the age-old obstacle of translating from academic to conversational. Howard commented on how the exhibition forces the presenter to be able to provide understandable explanations on subjects, both technical and abstract.

"[The Graduate Exhibition] is a good practice for professional experience," Howard said. "You have to be able to write about your work to make it more accessible."

Howard's entry to the exhibition is a three-dimensional photography piece that aims to integrate tradition and memory revolving around tenting at Centre County's Grange Fair. Her work will be juxtaposed with at least a dozen other exhibits at the HUB-Robeson Gallery.