Two LCU students chosen to participate in Student Scholars Forum in Shreveport

 Two Louisiana Christian University English majors have had their writing accepted into the 7th Annual LSUS Regional Student Scholars Forum to be held March 11 in Shreveport. 

Bethany Nichols, a junior from Boyce, and Samantha Ray, a sophomore from Pineville, both had their papers accepted for presentation at the forum. 

The forum is open to both undergraduate and graduate students across Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas to submit research and creative work from business, education, science and math, and social sciences. 

“The English faculty encouraged all junior and senior English majors and minors to submit an abstract for a paper written for one of their recent English classes,” said Jeannie Gauthier, chair of the Division of Language and Literature. “Both Bethany and Samantha are stellar students. We are so proud of them for having the courage to submit their work, and we could not be happier that they will represent LCU at this statewide event. They will not only have the opportunity to share their research with others, but will also attend other sessions in which they will hear from other scholars. We hope this experience will encourage more of our students to submit their work next year.” 

Nichols’ paper is titled “Benefits of Colonialism in Kipling’s India,” and she said she is looking forward to presenting it at the forum. 

“I chose to write about Rudyard Kipling’s ‘Rikki-Tikki-Tavi,’ because I enjoy analyzing and writing about children’s stories, and I saw that this particular one has a lot of potential,” Nichols said. 

Ray’s paper “A&P: A Clash Between Decades” deals with the hostility between the generations as conservative 1950s gives way to a tumultuous 1960s in Updike’s work.

“My research for this essay focused on Updike himself, as I became fascinated with his brilliant ability to use a simple story about a grocery store and a girl in a bikini to masterfully depict such a socially volatile period in history,” Ray said. 

Before transferring to LCU in spring 2022, Ray had two essays published in the 2020 Jongleur, the LSUA literary magazine. 

 

 

 Media Release | March 7, 2022 | Pineville, Louisiana
Contact: Dr. Elizabeth B. Clarke, Director of College Communications | Elizabeth.clarke@lcuniversity.edu