The search for success in college and beyond starts with effort but extends to using all available resources to learn and improve. Saturday an English major at The University of Texas-Pan American got some insight on how to be active in the pursuit.
Haydee Villarreal was given the opportunity to present an abstract of her essay, “Godwin vs. Darwin: Survival of the Most Valuable?” at a conference, Bridges and Borders: Exploring the Confluence of Languages, Disciplines, and Cultures conference. The conference at The University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College was put on by the English Undergraduate/Graduate Advancement and Development Society, also known as EGADS.
Villarreal is a junior from McAllen. Her essay was first written as a final paper for a Survey of English Literature class last semester but unexpectedly became an entry in the British Literature section of the Brownsville conference.
Dr. Rebecca Mitchell, a professor in the English department, had suggested during class that students submit their work to any publications within or outside the campus.
“I always encourage (students) to pursue any avenue for taking their work to the next level,” said Mitchell, who has been at UTPA for four years.
But Villarreal, also part of the Honors program, felt that the suggestion wasn’t too reassuring. She said at first, she didn’t plan on submitting it because she felt her essay wouldn’t be as good as the others. But after a few days, she decided to go for it anyway.
“I thought if you try,” Villarreal recalled, “then there’s a chance of being chosen even if it is not guaranteed. If you don’t try, there’s a 100 percent chance you won’t get chosen.”
This philosophy soon became a reality when Villarreal received an acceptance letter. She was ecstatic to tell her mother whom she said was very happy for her and very proud of her accomplishment. Although the acceptance was satisfying, Villarreal soon realized another challenge: presenting the abstract in front of a crowd.
Not knowing much about the conference or how it worked or who would even attend, Villarreal still traveled an hour from her home to UTB/TSC, wanting to show her mother and professors just how dedicated she is about her work.
Yet, another obstacle followed. After the first presenter was introduced by a UTB English professor, Villarreal’s already worried look became more noticeable. The first section of British Literature had students presenting thesis papers for a master’s degree. Intimidation flushed her face.
“I think intimidation came from being among people who have been working on 20-some-page papers,” she related. “My essay was only 10 pages and so I felt like I was not on their level.”
When her section’s turn came around, she realized just how worked up she was getting about presenting. A small technical error moved her from being second to first but Villarreal was glad she was able to lead off.
“I got compliments from the professors,” she said, “and they told me my work was original and asked me how I came up with the idea (about Godwin and Darwin).”
Her idea came when she read Godwin and Darwin’s texts during class and found that both philosophers were different because of their view of who is justified to survive. Godwin favors to save the intellectual while Darwin favors the strongest and smartest. Villarreal’s argument saw that although both were different, their view of justification clashed when given another thought.
Mitchell, who also attended, said Villarreal’s essay was strong because of her ability to compare two different texts of thought, “She was able to bring out the similarities in logic in Godwin and Darwin’s arguments.”
Overall, Villarreal’s experience helped her learn about presenting and gave her confidence to submit to other events. She said Mitchell’s reassuring remark about attending more conferences gave her motivation to keep writing and submitting. She also said that the conference seminar she heard on how to publish works in journals was helpful.
Mitchell noted that the path Villarreal took to presenting is a natural one.
“I think just about everyone has some level of anxiety about the value and quality of their own work,” she insisted.
Villarreal concluded that her experience is one that other students might find helpful.
“I hope this, even though it’s a small accomplishment, motivates other writers to get their work out there. It’s not as hard as one might think it is.”
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