From March 29 to April 1, members of Union’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta traveled to attend the 99th annual Sigma Tau Delta International Convention held in Denver, Colo.
Sigma Tau Delta is the English Honor Society for college students and holds this conference-like event as an opportunity for English students to engage in scholarly presentations and share their creative and critical works.
In addition to the usual student presentations, this year’s convention included the theme of “Colorful Colorado”, Toni Morrison as the author spotlight, and keynote speaker Brenda Peynado, author of “The Rock Eaters.” Students could submit additional critical or creative works in response to these themes.
This year, six Union students had their creative and critical works submitted and accepted, but only four – Isabella Cook, Abbey Orwig, Caleb Starkey and Eunice Tan – were able to travel to Denver to present their pieces at the convention. Dr. Jay Beavers, English professor and the chapter’s advisor, accompanied the group.
This is the first time a group of Union Sigma Tau Delta members has taken the trip to the convention since Beavers took over the position of chapter advisor from his predecessor, Professor Roger Stanley, in 2016. Despite the chapter’s small size, the number of students who had their works accepted and invited to be presented has great significance.
“I do think it’s a sign of strength of our students and the quality of our students’ writing, that so many of us have gotten accepted to present their paper, and I imagine they got quite a few submissions if you think about all of the members of Sigma Tau Delta across the country,” Beavers said.
Junior English major, Eunice Tan, presented creative work in various categories, including a short story that was published in the Sigma Tau Delta literary journal “The Rectangle.”
“Being able to engage with professionals has fueled my motivation and excitement for my work,” Tan said. “I also realized they are closer and less superhuman than I think! I started to see myself in the points of their life before me, which was inspiring. Knowing that it is possible, perhaps, for me to reach where they are – getting my novel published.”
Tan was able to represent the quality of Union English major work by winning 1st place in Original Poetry and 2nd place for her Creative Nonfiction piece “Bow Lower, for Its Heart Lies in the Ground” at the Sigma Tau Delta Awards Luncheon.
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