By Delaney Fox, Staff Writer
From Mar. 30 to Apr. 3, the Saint Vincent College chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, an international honors society for English students, traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend and present at the 2022 Sigma Tau Delta International Convention.
Chapter advisor Dr. Sara Lindey, acting president Kyra Lipetzky, Sophie Neubert, Isabel Sicree, Kolby Hanan, David Collins and Nicholas Rega comprised the Saint Vincent-associated group who attended.
The annual convention presents an opportunity for prospective Sigma Tau Delta members, current chapter members and advisors, alumni and staff to engage with a variety of works potentially written by students around the world.
Before the convention, each student prepared a project that had to be accepted individually for the student to be invited to present. While at the convention, students presented works ranging from poetry to academic essays in front of a panel and their fellow students.
Students could also attend presentations by featured speakers and interactive events throughout the convention.
Kyra Lipetzky, sophomore English and marketing double major, was excited about the opportunity to present her original prose piece titled “Fallen Apples.”
“My story centered around a young granddaughter testing the limits of imagination vs. reality, with the sense of nostalgia you get from the hazy yellow of childhood,” Lipetzky said. “Presenting it at this event was a fantastic experience and truly expanded my awareness of the writing world as well as my own understanding of how I can fit into the title of author.”
Lipetzky also participated in several of the events at the convention.
“I particularly enjoyed the Bad Poetry contest, in which you recite original works. I myself won second place for ‘not so bad’ bad poetry,” Lipetzky said.
Sophie Neubert, sophomore English major, enjoyed her first time presenting an analytic work outside of a classroom setting. Her paper was titled “Panopticism in George Orwell’s 1984.”
“The paper explores Michele Foucalt’s theory of panopticism in the context of the dystopian regime present in 1984,” Neubert said. “It was very encouraging and uplifting to have my work heard and accepted by so many members of the writing community.”
While the convention was the highlight of the trip for students, they were also given the opportunity to sightsee and explore the city. Several students visited Centennial Park and toured both the Georgia Aquarium and Coke Factory. Other events in the area included a juggling festival and a basketball game.
“Overall, this was a really great experience for me. I enjoyed having the opportunity to listen to and learn from so many other creative and critical works,” Neubert said.
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