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Sarah Wagoner of Gering, Neb., Abigail Swanson of Grand Island, Neb., and Ashy Blacksheep of ���ϴ��¼� presented pieces. Ezra Hare of ���ϴ��¼� and Samuel LaRive of Hot Springs, S.D., also attended, along with faculty advisers Dr. Kimberly Cox and Dr. Mary Clai Jones.

Wagoner read Don't Trust Your Eye: Subversive Male Gaze, a film criticism paper, analyzing the use of male gaze in the rape-revenge exploitation genre. Wagoner was pleased with feedback from attendees during her presentation and in the Q&A following.

“My primary goal with my paper was to make people reconsider their conceptions of the male gaze. I couldn't be happier to have succeeded,” Wagoner said

Swanson presented Before the Bite, an original prose version of Snow White with a marketing flare, as part of a panel titled Prose with Teeth.

Blacksheep, a December 2021 graduate, read The Quiet, a post-apocalyptic piece. She attended the international conferences in 2019 and online in 2021 and said the experience grows richer with each convention.

“It is amazing to come back to these events and find that one’s network has truly grown. I bumped into former co-panelists, chatted with writers whose papers from previous years I still can’t get over, and made new friends. As a writer, I believe a healthy craft involves three things, reading, writing, and collaboration, and these conventions hit every wicket,” Blacksheep said.

Hare and LaRive attended several panel discussions.

“My favorite panels were the ones that contained my classmates. Unlike others in the audience, I was able to approach the panel knowing the full scope of each’s creation,” LaRive said.

Hare said his favorite panel was Challenging Traditional Identity in American Literature.

“Afterward we discussed the complex relationship between the forms of oppression for black Americans and LGBTQ Americans; both the similarities and the important key differences between how such oppression manifests differently for members of those groups via institutionalized systems,” Hare said.

Hare said the conference also confirmed his interest in graduate education.

“Hearing other undergrad students present such wonderful ideas really inspired me to pursue more complex ideas for my upcoming papers. I'm more motivated than ever to further my education for English Literature,” he said.

Conventions are invaluable in students' professional and personal development, according to Cox.

“[Conventions] allow students to see the significance and impact of their work beyond the classroom. They also offer good practice for professional presentations and interviews. I also appreciate the time spent with students on these trips, discussing both their current passions and future professional goals,” Cox said.

Outside the conference, students explored downtown Atlanta and visited several historical sites, including the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site.

—Abigail Swanson, College Relations