Northwestern State students attend Sigma Tau Delta International English Honors Society convention

By: Dr. J. Ereck Jarvis

NATCHITOCHES – Six Northwestern State University English students attended the 2023 Sigma Tau Delta International English Honors Society convention held recently in Denver. The students were actively involved in the event, either presenting original research and creative work, sharing activities developed by NSU’s Nu Iota chapter or serving as student leadership for the convention. The convention brought together over 840 attendees, mostly undergraduates, representing over 175 colleges and universities. 

“As the culminating event of the year, the convention is a great opportunity to share ideas, to meet rising talents through author talks and book signings, and to participate in leadership and professional development workshops,” said Dr. Leigh Dillard, regent for the Southern Region of the society and professor of English at the University of North Georgia, “It’s an encouraging and positive atmosphere, and it’s also just a lot of fun.” 

Catelyn Errington of Luling helped organize the convention in her capacity as Southern Region Associate representative of Sigma Tau Delta. In September, Errington met with other student leaders in Denver, where they contributed to planning and compiled a guide of restaurants, sites and activities in the area to help orient convention-goers. Errington has been president of NSU’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta for the past year. She will graduate this semester, completing the five-year combined Louisiana Scholars’ College B.A. in humanities and social thought and M.A. in English. 

At the convention, Errington conducted the workshop “How to Write without Writing,” judged Bad Poetry Night and introduced poet Nicky Beer at a plenary reading by Denver-based writers.  

“Catelyn was an integral part of the convention and of the student leadership team throughout the past year,” said Dillard. “As Southern regent, I knew I could count on her. I’m particularly pleased the Northwestern State chapter chose Denver as the site of its first convention, not only to participate in all the events the convention affords but also to see Catelyn in action as she helped organize and staff events with her usual positivity.” 

Because NSU’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta was founded in 1964, faculty co-advisor Dr. J. Ereck Jarvis said this may not be the first time NSU students have attended the convention. But he said it’s certainly a first in recent memory.  

Jarvis, an associate professor of English, coordinated NSU students’ travel to and participation in the convention. Faculty co-advisors Dr. Lilly Berberyan and Dr. Khirsten Doolan assisted Jarvis with helping students plan for the event. Jarvis said that NSU’s involvement in Denver builds on the momentum of student participation in the South Regional conference over the last several years. In 2018, Jarvis traveled to the University of North Georgia with three students who presented work, and additional students participated virtually in this conference the past three years when it was conducted entirely online.  

“We are so proud that NSU students contributed 19 different presentations of original work over the course of these four regional events,” said Jarvis. 

Angela Saldivar of Brownsville, Texas, presented “British Lit, Environmental Racism, Local Activism,” original research developed in a course surveying British literature from the 18th century to the present taught by Jarvis. Saldivar was part of a roundtable comprised of five students from different colleges and universities. On the panel, titled “The UnEssay: Creative Projects in Lit Classes,” these students shared and discussed work they generated for assignments involving creative responses to literature, an approach increasingly integrated into college literature courses. Saldivar shared and commented on memes and related analysis she generated for Jarvis’ course in the 18th-century British novel.  

A member of NSU’s Chamber Choir, Saldivar also presented the recording of a psalm which she created and sang for Berberyan’s survey of early English literature in fall 2022. The psalm was comprised of lines from “Paradise Lost” by John Milton and set to original music by Saldivar. Saldivar considers assignments like this to be a “great form of generating literary knowledge outside of the conventional essay.” She explains, “These projects actually encouraged me to do just as much research as I would for a paper and instead manifest it creatively.” 

Carly Chandler, a student in NSU’s MA in English program and former president of NSU’s Sigma Tau Delta chapter, presented part of their thesis written under the direction of Dr. Rebecca Macijeski.  

“This trip to the convention gave me an opportunity to share my work with likeminded individuals, make lifelong friendships, meet new people, and learn so many new things,” Chandler said. “When reading my creative work ‘Queer in the South,’ an excerpt from my thesis ‘Southern Marimba,’ I was able to share one of the most important facets of my work. And three people approached me, asking where they could buy my book.”  

Chandler won second place for “Best Bad Poem” at Bad Poetry Night. 

Meghan Quaglino of Chalmette, presented her paper “A Woolf in Sheep’s Clothing” as part of the session “Feminist Themes.” Quaglino initially developed this original research for a “Texts and Traditions” course taught by Dr. Dean Kostantaras in the Scholars’ College. Quaglino also moderated the panel “The Nineteenth-Century Novel and Social Concerns.” In fall 2023, she will enter her final year of the five-year combined Scholars B.A. in humanities and social thought and M.A. in English. 

Bailey Gaspard of Alexandria and Jonathan Gennaro of Kenner contributed to the convention’s “Chapter Share” event. Gaspard is an English major at NSU. Gennaro, an English major in the Louisiana Scholars’ College and current president of the Demon Writer’s Guild, graduates in May. Errington and Saldivar also participated. This group shared the “Bibliomancy Oracle” with members from other schools. The “Oracle” was developed as the chapter’s contribution to the 2022 LitCon event on the NSU campus. Bibliomancy is the practice of using books, often the Bible, to acquire information, guidance, or meditative focus about the future. NSU chapter members gathered quotes from literature, and, in response to a specific question or request for general guidance, the “Oracle” provides participants with one of these quotes on a tiny scroll. Errington, along with Nu Iota faculty co-advisors, led the creation of the “Bibliomancy Oracle.” 

“Everyone who visited our table said this was the coolest thing they had ever seen,” said Errington.  

Oona Zbitkovskis, LitCon ’22 coordinator and NSU English faculty member, thinks the “Oracle” was a positive contribution to last year’s conference and a great choice for sharing at the convention in Denver.  

“It is a different, fun, and fanciful way of interacting with literature,” said Zbitkovskis. “And it connects people with literary works they may not know. People who connect with their quote from the ‘Oracle’ can investigate that author, that piece of writing.”  

The table at the convention in Denver also distributed a pamphlet by Jarvis discussing the long history of bibliomancy, extending to multiple ancient societies, as well as literary works like Daniel Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe,” Wilkie Collins’ “The Moonstone” and the contemporary poetry of Raymond Antrobus, all of which include examples of bibliomancy.  

According to Southern Regent Dr. Dillard, “It’s hard to prepare students for this kind of event — especially in their first year attending — but when they’ve experienced it firsthand, they can’t wait to spread the word to their chapters and make plans to attend the next year, even as alumni,” said Dillard.  

Jarvis said students who traveled to Denver have already come to him with ideas for the future of NSU’s Sigma Tau Delta chapter. 

Errington’s participation in the convention was fully funded by Sigma Tau Delta International Honors Society parent organization. Travel, lodging, and registration costs for the five additional students were funded in part by an Organization Relief Fund grant from NSU’s Student Government Association as well as support from the Department of English, Languages, and Cultural Studies and fundraising by the chapter. 

Caption 

Northwestern State University English students attending the 2023 Sigma Tau Delta International English Honors Society convention held recently in Denver included, left to right, Jonathan Gennaro, Carly Chandler, Angela Saldivar, Bailey Gaspard, and Meghan Quaglino.