Students encouraged to submit work for annual Celebration of Quality

A student takes in a series of paintings during the 2019 Celebration of Quality academic symposium. Students are invited to submit their academic work for presentation at the 2021 Celebration of Quality, which takes place April 16. (Photo by Brandon Bland/Northwest Missouri State University)

Northwest Missouri State University students and faculty sponsors are invited to submit their best work for presentation at the annual Celebration of Quality, an interdisciplinary academic symposium spotlighting exceptional student work throughout campus.

Submissions for this year’s Celebration of Quality are due by midnight Monday, March 29. The symposium is open to all Northwest students; click this link to submit a display or presentation.

“It has been a difficult year for many of our students, but they have continued to produce truly excellent work,” Dr. Elyssa Ford, an associate professor of history and the director of Northwest’s Honors Program, said. “Participating in the Celebration of Quality is a great way for students to show the University community their expertise, and it provides an important opportunity to give a professional presentation, which helps prepare students for graduate school and for public presentations in the workforce.”

The symposium is open to all undergraduate and graduate students at Northwest. Submissions may include work completed either this semester or any time during the previous year. Because the 2020 Celebration of Quality was canceled due to COVID-19, the selection committee will accept projects from 2019. The committee also will consider submissions of work to be completed after the March 22 deadline so long as it has a faculty sponsor and the work will be ready for presentation at the symposium.

Sponsored jointly by the Society of President’s Scholars and the Office of the Provost, the symposium gives the University community a chance to view student work across disciplines and gives participating students an audience beyond the classroom.

Past submissions have included creative writing, original research papers and analytical papers. Participants have given speeches, conducted panel discussions and displayed original works of art or visual summaries of their projects in science, education and business. Participants also have presented dramatic readings and performed or analyzed music.

The symposium is 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, April 16, on the third floor of the J.W. Jones Student Union, with sessions throughout the afternoon and evening. The top project presentations will receive awards, and attendees will be eligible for door prize drawings.

For more information regarding the Celebration of Quality, contact Ford at ebford@nwmissouri.edu, or Savannah Baker, president of the Society of President’s Scholars, at s529205@nwmissouri.edu.