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Department ofEnglish

Stories

LEAD Students and Faculty Participate in Conference

by Jessica Lew-Munoz (Math, ‘18)

This Spring, faculty members Tricia Serviss and Cruz Medina, along with six LEAD students, attended the Computers and Writing conference at the University of Wisconsin, Stout, where they presented their research on the use of iPads in first-year writing courses.

This Spring, faculty members Tricia Serviss and Cruz Medina, along with six LEAD students, attended the Computers and Writing conference at the University of Wisconsin, Stout, where they presented their research on the use of iPads in first-year writing courses. The students’ conference travel was supported by undergraduate travel grants from the Office of the Provost. Faculty member Julia Voss also attended the conference.

Being a first generation college student from a low income family, I was exhilarated to be given the opportunity to share my experiences with technology in the classroom to a scholarly audience. Growing up, I was never exposed to academic programs held outside of college, so I never dreamed of attending a national conference, let alone presenting at one. I was honored when my English LEAD professor invited me t o speak at my first national conference. Overall, not only was it an educational experience, listening in on many great talks to practicing my presentation and research skills, but it was also fun. I especially loved being around the professors from SCU who expressed feelings of FOMO (fear of missing out) when deciding which session to attend. I even found myself in the same position multiple times because I did not know that there could be so many interesting subjects covered under one field. After attending the conference, I felt as if it was my duty to share my experiences with others, especially with the younger generations. I want to enlighten others about the academic parlors existing around the world and encourage them to join the conversation. Not only can they learn something new by looking at a topic from a different perspective, they can also have fun by meeting new people who share common interests. I always share my stories with my younger cousins in the hopes of motivating them to take the initiative to expand their knowledge outside of school, because the conversation starts in class and then expands outside of the classroom.