Honors Program Travels to Memphis to Present Research

May 1, 2019

Honors Program students from the Statesboro and Armstrong campuses traveled by bus to Memphis to present their research at the annual meeting of the Southern Regional Honors Council (SRHC). Led by Dr. Steven Engel and Dr. Jonathan Roberts, 49 Georgia Southern students participated in poster presentations and paper panel sessions. SRHC is comprised of honors colleges and programs across the southeast, and for the second year in a row, Georgia Southern had the largest contingent of students presenting.

For many of the Georgia Southern students, this was their first experience presenting at an academic conference. Anna Hassett (exercise science ‘19) left her first poster presentation feeling like she had expanded her knowledge on things from her field of study as well as other varying fields that she normally would not encounter. “I felt inspired to continue my research as well as other outside research projects,” she said.

Jim Walker (mechanical engineering ‘19) and Kelley Nemec (information systems ‘19) were also first time participants in the event. They both enjoyed the opportunity to present their honors thesis research and receive feedback from other honors students.

Nemec said, “My research is something I’ve spent a lot of time with, personally, and being able to tell people about it was very gratifying.”

Walker agreed, “It’s always inspiring to be in a group of individuals that are all driven and actually care about what they’re doing, and I think that’s something that’s relatively difficult to come by.”

Many of the students were also excited to travel to a new city. Memphis provided a new environment for these students to take in and helped to expand their curiosities beyond the conference presentations.

Kira Breen (rehabilitation sciences ‘20) was inspired by the city of Memphis and felt it added to the interdisciplinary environment of the conference itself. Being able to explore a new city and all that it has to offer helped to spark an invigorated interest in all that the world has to offer and encouraged students to further pursue their passions.

Both Dr. Steven Engel and Dr. Jonathan Roberts recognize the opportunity to travel and to present personal research at a recognized and respected conference. Dr. Engel said, “I think it was great that we were able to bring such a large group of students from both campuses and give them the opportunity to present their research in a professional setting. This is the kind of experience that the honors program provides and contributes to the students’ personal and professional development.”

Dr. Roberts continued, “I think it is a great opportunity for students to not only present their own work but learn about what other people from the Southeastern United States are researching.”

Overall, honors students from a variety of disciplines came together to support and to learn from each other. This experience gave students connections and experience explaining and defending their research.