Photo by: Will Gentry
Oklahoma Christian University’s Department of Language and Literature set a new record for students accepted to Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honors Society’s, national conference.
Sixteen students plan to attend the conference, this year to be held in Savannah, Ga.
“I think it’s just really wonderful that for such a small school, we do have so many people going,” senior Emily Calvert said. “ It’s very unusual to have 16 people go to a conference from one school. I think that’s just a real testament to how involved the faculty is in encouraging us to reach for our fullest potential and just really explore all the opportunities available to us.”
According to Cami Agan, chair and professor of language and literature, the number of accepted students is not just an amount, but an indication of a high percentage of success.
“We have roughly 30 to 40 members at any given time, depending on graduation and new members joining,” Agan said. “So to have 16 of those members accepted for conference is almost a 50 percent acceptance rate, which is great.”
Among those accepted to the conference, Calvert credits the faculty of Oklahoma Christian – particularly Agan – for helping her along the way.
“She really guided me in fleshing out my analysis and just really making sure that my paper explored the topic to its greatest potential,” Calvert said. “So I feel like she really helped with that journey.”
Agan, in turn, noted the significance of the fact that Oklahoma Christian is also sending more students than any other school in the nation.
“I think it’s really important that we are the university that has the most students accepted in the nation, and that means that we’re going to represent OC at a venue very well,” Agan said. “The students that are going are very prepared, and so it’s important to think about not just the individual chapter [of Sigma Tau Delta], Rho Mu, getting to go to Savannah, Ga., but it’s sort of like a little part of OC is going to get to be center stage, and they’re going to represent OC very well, so I’m proud of them.”
Aside from going to conferences and working on their respective papers, Sigma Tau Delta members deal with a variety of other activities and obligations.
“We have seven officers, maybe even eight,” Agan said. “Basically they’re in charge of fundraising activities, parties, any intellectual gatherings that we have as a department and any kind of connections to prospective new members.”
Sigma Tau Delta students, particularly Calvert, said the group is beneficial for the entire English department.
“Besides really supporting conferences and opportunities, or the development of English writing and analysis skills and furthering careers at the conference and things, it really works with the department too,” Calvert said. “I think it’s just a really good group to bring some cohesion to the department, draw everyone together and just have that sense of department unity that makes it such a great experience.”
Durrill discussed the process of getting her paper prepped for submission to the conference.
“I just looked at the comments I already had on my paper and then took out some words [because] it can only be 2,000 words long, and then submitted it after I made some changes,” senior Molly Durrill said.
At the conference, the students will be responsible for reading their work to other writers and scholars and receiving their feedback and critiques.
“Depending on what kind of project they had accepted, they either read their scholarly paper in a panel like they’re at a literary conference, or they read their creative work,” Agan said. “Each of those groups gets feedback from the audience: either questions about research or argument, or inspiration and creativity if it’s a poem or a short story.”
Not only does this national conference allow students to grow and develop their writing technique and skills, it also provides them with a chance to prepare for life after college.
“There are also panels and special breakout sessions for internships, employment, publishing, and how to sort of meet and greet and network in the discipline for the students,” Agan said. “Screenwriting, projects, that sort of thing; so it’s not just going and listening to papers – although that’s good too – but they get a chance to meet people from publishing houses and kind of think about what happens to them after graduation.”
The Sigma Tau Delta students will attend the conference in Georgia from February 26 to March 1.
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