This year’s Piedmont Symposium is almost set as the last few entries are accepted.

“The Symposium is possible because of the work of the entire committee as well as the support from the faculty/staff encouraging their students to submit their work to Symposium,” says Julia Schmitz, chair of the Symposium Committee.

Piedmont’s annual Symposium is one of the campus’s biggest events. With it, comes a lot of promise for the students and faculty.

“Symposium is a day to celebrate and showcase the excellent research and creative inquiry projects that our students do.” Says Schmitz. “This is a benefit to the students as it allows the students to showcase the projects that they have worked on for several months or longer. It also is a presentation that a student can put on their CV/resume, and they can talk about the experience at a job interview.”

“It is an opportunity for students to showcase their findings from individualized research supervised and supported by our very own intellectual faculty members,” says Kim Crawford, member of the Symposium planning committee. “This experience helps students to work collaboratively with a faculty member on a topic they are passionate about in order to expand their knowledge, creativity, and inquiry while giving them a practical experience that will showcase their own research work.”

Those who have already applied to present at Symposium have already begun months of preparation. With help from their professors and mentors, what these students produce will be something they can carry on for the rest of their college careers. Not only will the students gain a positive experience from this, the hard work and efforts put in by their professors and departments will also reap benefits as they are showcased by their students.

“This year’s Symposium is already shaping up to be an impressive event as the applications come rolling in,” says Schmitz. “There will be several live demonstrations, open labs, and explorations along with the presentations and poster sessions. It is always exciting to read through the proposals and learn about all the great work our faculty and staff are doing with their students. We look forward to seeing everyone there!”