Are you uncomfortable speaking in front of a class? Do you break out in a nervous sweat just thinking about speaking to strangers?
Two of our Geography students recently faced their fears, presenting at the Association of American Geographers East Lakes/West Lakes regional conference at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan from October 16-18. The 3-day event was open to anyone with an interest in geography and related disciplines including meteorology/climatology. Students and faculty from many regional universities and colleges submitted abstracts for oral and poster presentations.
Lauren Loney, senior, presented the paper Assessing Food Inequalities in Dayton, Ohio and the Immediate Vicinity. John Tribble, senior, presented On Your Mark, Get Set, Geo! Steering Market Entry Through Geodemographic Analysis of Social Media. Anthony Prince went along as support and was able to attend several other paper presentations. For the past several years, Dr. John Oswald, Instructor, has not only attended with students but has presented at the conference. This year, he presented The Lines that Divide: Overt and Covert Partitioning in Belfast, North Ireland.
John Tribble said this of his experience:
This was my first time attending any AAG function and it was a good experience overall. Wright State had a seemingly small representation in attendance but presented comparably advanced papers. Having sat through about fifteen presentations, I can say that Dr. Oswald’s presentation on the divisions in Belfast was probably the most captivating and drew the most interest from the audience in his time slot, if not the whole conference. It was also clear that WSU personnel understand geography to a far greater scope than some other school’s programs.
The only issue I had was with the scheduling – unfortunately both Lauren and I were scheduled to present at the exact same time in different rooms. While we were not able to view each other’s presentations, we each had at least one WSU representative present. It was a very non-threatening environment where presenting felt more like a conversation than anything else.
If you’re a Geography major who missed the chance to attend and present, it is not too late to sign up for the national conference being held in Chicago this spring! Let Dr. Kris Bezdecny or Dr. John Oswald know by October 31 if you’d like to present.
