Students Present Research at the 2025 Emerging Scholars Conference

The Spring 2025 Emerging Scholars Conference was held on April 16 and 17. Students from English 2010 and 2020 classes were given the opportunity to present innovative and creative audience-focused presentations in order to celebrate their writing, thinking, and scholarship.

This semester, there were 53 presentations delivered by 90 students. The event was organized and hosted by a team of English composition instructors: Rachel Quistberg, Mary Ellen Greenwood, Xiao Tan, Kristen Wheaton, and Beth Buyserie.

Students who wanted to present had to submit an abstract of their research and were then invited to speak at one of the sessions. Student in Senior Lecturer Ashley Wells’ 2010 course, Natalie Silva, was invited to present her paper on HB265, the Higher Education Strategic Reinvestment bill.

“I explained how this bill could threaten our academic freedom. I also explained that humanities will take a huge hit from this bill and how that is not a good thing. I advocate for an education system that has variety and that requires both humanities and STEM in its curriculum,” Natalie explains. “I also talked about how many have lost sight of the importance of higher education as a way to help the world in numerous ways. Many see higher education as a way to get a job or have a career and nothing more, and that is dangerous for our communities.”

For Natalie, the opportunity to present at a conference allowed her to talk about something she is passionate about and gain experience in using evidence to persuade audiences about the importance of real-life issues. “From the conference, I learned that voices have power and that it's okay to speak from the heart. I think I really was able to find my own voice during the process of this conference, and it was overall a really wonderful experience,” she reflects.

“As an instructor, I am always thinking about how our work in 2010 will strengthen community ties for students—professionally, academically, and civically,” reflects Ashley. “Presenting at the Emerging Scholars Conference demonstrates that research and critical thinking is a way to deepen our sense of community, sharing their scholarship with peers in a supportive environment.”