Interview with ECU Alum Lyndsey Key About Presenting at Academic Conferences

Lyndsey presenting her paper (taken by Dr. Sarah Peters)

One of our celebrated (and recent) alums, Lyndsey Key, presented at the South Central MLA in Little Rock, AR this past week. Since Lyndsey recently made the jump from ECU to grad school at OSU, I wanted to ask her a few question which might inspire current students contemplating making a similar jump next year--or in the near future. Here's the result of my brief interview with one of our star students of yesteryear:

ME: What was your paper about and where did the genesis of this idea come from? A class? Your own reading?

LYNDSEY: My paper was "Headcanon Accepted: The Power of Outcast Genres". It's part of my intended thesis--an exploration of genres developed by women, outside of traditional academia or the publishing industry. I'm also looking at the Psalm translations, women's travel diaries, and the colonial seduction novels. I argued that fanfiction's absorption into the mainstream is inevitable, well-deserved, and dangerous.

ME: What was your greatest fear about presenting at an academic conference? Did you feel ready? Did your program help you prepare? Or was it more a sense of talking to other people?

LYNDSEY: I was very worried that I would go over time (I finished with 17 seconds!) or slur my words by reading too fast. I'd presented this paper to a class last semester, and it went well, but I didn't know if that was because my classmates supported me or if it was actually a good essay.

ME: What most surprised you about actually presenting? And related to this, what might be the biggest misconception people have about academic conferences?

LYNDSEY: I had a moment, halfway through the first presenter's reading, where I realized, "Huh. I belong here. These are my people." It was one of the best moments of my degree. I think we all suffer from imposter syndrom-- everyone else seemed so much more confident and competent. But half of my panel, tenured professors, started their presentation by apologizing for it. There were so many brilliant papers presented. But there were just as many works-in-progress, that people brought to read and get project feedback on. Also, nobody is sitting in the audience planning on ripping you apart.

ME: What advice could you give to students who want to take a seminar paper to the next level? How do you make a paper 'for a grade' into a truly professional, presentable work?

LYNDSEY: Connect whatever you're talking about to a larger issue. Don't just list details from a text (which you're conference audience is not likely to have read), but connect it to something else you'd like to explore/argue.

Inspired yet? This could be YOU next year! For any questions about grad school, academic conferences, or simply turning a class paper into a presentation paper, ask your local English professor on the Third Floor! We're always happy to talk!