As I work on my application for the 2026 South Eastern College Art Conference with research from my Fall 2025 semester, I reminisce on my first experience with SECAC from the Fall of 2024. I had presented over the practice of graphic recording (the use of imagery intertwined with key words as a form on note taking) at Agnes Scott’s Spring Annual Research Conference (SpARC), and my advisor, Katherine Smith, suggested that I submit my abstract for the SECAC undergraduate presentation section of the conference. Since graphic recording was something I had learned from and practiced with a guest lecturer, Matt Sullivan, and had nothing to to with that I had considered to be traditional research, I had little hope that I would be accepted to present. However, during the summer of 2024, while hiding in the bathroom away from my rowdy summer camp kids, I checked my email that said I was invited to present.
This was my first adventure in academia beyond Agnes Scott College. I had never attended, let alone presented, at a large conference before. I have always struggled with imposter syndrome and the need to prove my intelligence, and not being able to find a field related internship after two years of college contributed to those thoughts. So that moment in the bathroom of a summer camp where I was working so that I would even be able to afford to come back in the Fall meant everything to me. The hard work of keeping up my nearly perfect GPA while not knowing where the money for my next semester would come from finally was paying off. I picked up extra hours to be able to afford the registration and membership fees to be able to present.
When the conference finally came around, I felt the support of my small department. My advisor would respond to emails in the middle of the night and send several progress checks my way to make sure that I was fully prepared for my presentation. The conference itself was held in Buckhead that year, so thankfully I didn’t have to pay for flights or hotel stays. I was able to catch a ride with my professors at the crack of dawn alongside my classmate, August Fisk, who was presenting his senior project in the same session as me.
My session was at 8am, so that only audience members were the other presenters and their faculty advisors, but in a way that was the perfect introduction to conference presentations. They were engaged in my presentation, and asked thoughtful questions at the end. There was not a single person I met that weekend that was derogatory or stand-offish. Everyone seems excited that undergraduates wanted to be part of the conversation. SECAC was an amazing introduction to the world of Art History outside of Agnes Scott, and that is all I can think about as I work on submitting my application for this year. I am excited at the possibility to return and showcase just how much has changed in my work in those two years. Because of my incredibly supportive faculty, I have been able to produce original research and writing that I believe is important to share, and they do their best at every avenue to help me reach my potential.
