Elizabethtown College English Department

For many students, giving a presentation can be a pretty daunting task. A good presentation often requires a fair amount of preparation, practice, and of course a successful execution.

At Elizabethtown College The Scholarship and Creative Arts Days (SCAD) is offered every spring to give students a chance to hone their skills in presenting their work to others. This conference celebrates the select student presenter’s hard work. Some students present their research in their respective studies, while others participate in recitals and/or have their work on display in an art exhibit. A keynote speaker kicks off the event.

Each year English majors participate in SCAD.  At the 2018 SCAD there were English panels covering British literature, memoir writing, client-based projects, and Honors in the Discipline research.

Student Experiences with SCAD

During the 2017 SCAD, Megan Kane, an English secondary education major, presented a paper she wrote for her multicultural literature class. She discussed her family’s roots in Germany in a panel discussion with two other presenters. Following the presentation, Kane and her fellow panelists answered questions from the audience of professors, classmates, friends, and members of the community.

“Overall, the experience was a great professional development opportunity, and I appreciated sharing my piece with a wider audience,” Kane said. “There is such a wide variety of presentations to deliver within the English major, so you can structure them to reflect your interests and work.”

Rebecca Easton, an English professional writing major, gave her first SCAD presentation two years ago as a first year student. This presentation was based on a term paper she wrote that analyzed how three different newspapers (including the Washington Post) reported on the legalization of gay marriage.

Easton gave her second presentation during her sophomore year on Joyce Carol Oates’ short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Her presentation argued that this short story is a sample of magical realism. She recalled that a few of the professors in the audience congratulated her after her presentation.

Both Kane and Easton mentioned the support of their professors throughout the SCAD process. Kane described the process of working with Dr. Rohrkemper to increase conciseness and clarity in her paper. She also said the process took several meetings outside of class, but she described it as “relatively simple” and she “enjoyed the chance to expand on the work [she] did for the in-class paper and share more of [her] family heritage.”

Easton had this to say about her process: “It was a huge honor.  My professors’ advice and patience throughout the process really benefited my overall projects.” Though she was nervous during her first SCAD presentation two years ago, she said “The experience of presenting is something that everyone should try to get used to in college. It’s an environment where you’re allowed to make mistakes!”

Author bio:

Noah Abbe is a junior professional writing English major.