Excitement Builds as English Students Prepare for Conference Presentations
MacEwan students are preparing for the English Student Conference on February 7 and 8, featuring keynote speaker Dr. Willow White, a distinguished alum and feminist literary historian. “We’re excited to welcome the alumna back to present,” noted conference chair Dr Julia Peters. This year marks a significant milestone, as White is the first MacEwan graduate to address the conference since its inception.
This initiative for students was started in 2010 under the name Reading Identities and took a brief hiatus during the pandemic before relaunching under its new name last year. The conference gives undergraduate English students an opportunity to present their academic English research or creative writing in a respectful and encouraging environment.
Last year, English major Ashley Alton participated in two student panels, where she showcased her original poetry and a research paper on early Canadian literature. She’s excited to present again this year, feeling confident that her in-class presentations and creative readings have equipped her with the tools she needs.
Alton offers advice to her fellow presenters. “Take deep breaths and slow down. Make eye contact with people who are absorbing what you’re saying and presenting and just have fun.”
After attending last year, another student presenter, Christian Lambert, was inspired to join the conference. “It felt like, a close community of people who really like talking about English. I’m like, that’s me.” To prepare, he is focussing on editing his paper to better incorporate humour and personality into his oral presentation while doing his best not to stress. “I’m nervous about the Q & A section for sure, because I don’t know what’s going to be asked, and it’s hard to prepare for.”
Peters is encouraged by the growing interest in the conference. “We have more submissions this year than last year, and the involvement of the student organizing committee is really good.”
The majority of the submissions are from MacEwan students, with several others from other universities across Alberta, Peters notes the planning is going well. “My favourite part is working with the student committee. My least favourite part is trying to coordinate times when everybody can meet together.”
