The Kent State Stark campus is hosting the Annual Student Conference on April 29. The conference is sponsored by the Honors Program to showcase the academic aptitudes of Kent State students.

The conference is entering its ninth year where students are able to submit their talents via papers, artwork, posters, music or theatre presentations at the upcoming event.

Leslie Heaphy, an history associate professor, honors program coordinator and the conference coordinator, expressed her excitement for this upcoming event.

“We have students from freshman to senior(s) taking part in the conference. It also begins with a reception the night before with musical entertainment from some of our own music students,” Heaphy said.

The event has had an increasing number of students take part in the conference over the years, and now with nearly 60 participants entered this year. Although there are no winners or prizes for this conference, all of the presentations will be published on Digital Commons.

“This is great for students to get practice presenting, getting feedback and it is a great resume builder,” Heaphy said.

The proposal process was online, as students had to submit a 150-word abstract of their talents, along with a presentation plan. The plan could include oral presentations (individual or group), posters, visual art displays, performance or foreign language presentations.

The students also needed to include a letter of support from a faculty member along with their proposal.

“We have a student selection committee and it is not automatic that all submissions get accepted,” Heaphy said. “Our goal is to make this mirror a conference if students were going to another school.” Faculty moderators will be present as well.

The goal is to encourage people to come and see and hear the great work from the Kent state students.

“We have such great campus support and want to see others come take part in this event,” said Heaphy.

The Annual Student Conference is on Friday, April 29, from 8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. in the Main Hall at Kent State University at Stark. The pre-conference reception will be on Thursday, April 28, from 6 – 8 p.m. in the Conference Center Dining Room.

The conference is open to the public, as well as all students from every campus, as both presenters and attendees.

Alyssa Ronyak is a regionals reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].