Wright’s Student Colloquium

By:Miguel Zurita

The Student Colloquium was a two-day event, on April 24 and 25 where honors and non honors students present their work. All Wright students are encouraged to stop by and show support to students who are presenting. 

The Student Colloquium’s first year was 2017, led by Professor Susan Colon and now Professor Todorovich. The purpose is to bring students together and help them understand Slavic literature. Additionally, to form a better understanding of what they should be looking for when reading this type of literature. 

Professor Todorovich explains that she continues the colloquium because it is adequate exposure for students and good practice for public speaking. Students learn how to speak in front of a crowd, and it gives them a sense of a real conference. The first student to perform was Kateryna Romaniv, who presented The Inner Side of the Wind a novel by Milorad Pavić.

An attendee, Esperanza Luz said, “This event sounded very interesting to me and I had some free time before my first class of the day began so I decided to swing by and check it out.” She loved the first presentation and wished she could have stayed for the rest of the event. In addition to presenting, there was lots of food and snacks for students and professors to enjoy. 

(Isabel Both giving a speech on the book Ignorance.( Photo Credit: Miguel Zurita )

Isabel Both performed a wonderful speech on Ignorance, a novel, though she was given limited time. Both did not have a visual presentation, but she explained the novel admirably and answered all questions. Jocelyn Guadarrama, another attendee, expressed that she enjoyed the atmosphere and appreciated everyone’s respect for the speakers. 

Overall, this event was very successful and was great for expanding student’s knowledge about Slavic literature. Lastly, it helped students socialize with other students and overcome stage fright.