The fourth annual Graham Symposium was held on Friday, April 7, in the Lumpkin Learning Commons at Blackburn College. The symposium was hosted by the English and Communications department, in honor of former Blackburn English professor Roy Graham. Graham served at Blackburn for 50 years until his retirement in 2014.
The day began at 9:15 a.m., as Blackburn attendees and visiting students from Coal City High School, North Greene, Mount Olive and Morrisonville, Illinois, were greeted with an introduction from Graham himself. Alumnus Lucretia Pitts followed with a testimonial about how her literature degree from Blackburn prepared her for a career in law.
Afterwards visiting students began the first of two break-out sessions. Each session consisted of four short workshops in which the students participated. The first workshop taught students about the foundational elements of conducting active debates and conversations surrounding sports. The second workshop helped students learn about how to effectively present themselves to potential employers. The third workshop provided students with insight on the positive benefits of using social media for reasons other than just pure entertainment. The final workshop was based on practicing audition techniques, and presented students with different approaches to customizing an audition to best suit their strengths.
After a short break students went through the second break-out session before they were taken on a tour of the Blackburn campus.
Lunch began at 12:30 p.m. and students were provided with a taco buffet, brownies for dessert and lemonade. During lunch there was an award ceremony to recognize the efforts of current Blackburn students who work for The ‘Burnian and to announce the winner of the Celeste Miyashiro essay contest, the Louise Allen creative writing contest and the Departmental Excellence awards.
Lunch was followed by a discussion panel that consisted of Blackburn alumni that went on to achieve successful professional careers with their education.
During the final stage of the symposium, students were given awards based on the work they produced during workshops.
Chair of English and Communications Dr. Naomi Crummey reflected on the symposium, and stated, “I was delighted that we had more high schools attending this year’s event, and that students enjoyed themselves and found the day fun and informative.”