This week former LOTS-MC participants share how the experience has helped shape their academic and professional lives!
This year’s Life of the Scholar Multidisciplinary Conference will be this Saturday (March 30th) in the Tucker Student Center, with the first sessions beginning at 9 am. Students, staff, and friends are invited to come and support the presenters as they share their research and insights! For those of you presenting, here are a few testimonials about how this experience can impact you!
Shaquavia Chiles, GWU English For Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) 2018; ESL Teacher at Southeast Middle School and East Rowan High School.
“I hated speaking in front of people, let alone being judged for it. But after 3 years of presenting at LOTS, I can definitely say that I'm prepared to be a leader in the field of education. 3 weeks into my 1st year teaching I was required to lead a professional development presentation about English Language Learners in the classroom. LOTS not only helped me to develop my confidence as a speaker, but it also taught me how to create and present meaningful and relevant content for my colleagues.”
Mallory Moore, GWU English 2018; University of Chicago MA in Humanities with a focus on Cinema and Media Studies 2019.
“I presented at LOTS my junior and senior years, and I would highly recommend the experience to all Gardner-Webb students. After investing a lot of time and energy into my term papers and independent research, I got to share that work with others at LOTS. It’s is a great way to practice sharing your work in a public setting without a lot of pressure. Both years that I participated, LOTS gave me the opportunity to practice my presentation before taking it to the Alpha Chi national convention. These two events are structured very similarly, so LOTS helped me to get familiar and comfortable with an academic conference. LOTS also allowed me to share my work with students and professors who I didn’t normally see in class. The audience in my sessions always had helpful feedback and questions. The environment is supportive and encouraging; I even got together with some of the other students who presented in my category to practice beforehand. It’s also a great way to practice public speaking in general. It helped me feel much more comfortable sharing my ideas with others, which has been a very helpful skill in graduate school.”
Mariah Richardson, GWU Sociology/Biblical Studies 2015; GWU MDiv/MA in Religion (Old Testament and Hebrew) 
2019.
“Exactly two years ago today (March 25), I had the privilege of presenting at Gardner-Webb University's academic conference, Life Of The Scholar (LOTS). It was the first time I presented my research outside of the classroom, and the experience was incredible. I received encouraging feedback from my peers and professors, and the confidence to continue presenting at academic conferences. I am currently sitting at a cafe in Glasgow, Scotland, preparing for my upcoming presentation at the University of Glasgow’s conference titled Women and Gender in the Bible and Ancient World. I am grateful for the opportunity LOTS provided for it inspired me to continue learning and sharing my work.”
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