Westminster honors student presents at national conference

A Westminster College honors student presented research at the National Collegiate Honors Conference (NCHC) located in Dallas during the first week of November 2022.

Elizabeth Walters, a sophomore computer science major from Fort Worth, Texas, presented “Censorship and Representation: Consequences of Book Banning in Modern Society,” which focused on book banning and its effect on public school curricula and cultural literacy. Her research, unrelated to her major, was conducted during her first semester in Westminster’s Honors Program in fall 2021.

“I really enjoyed getting to do research outside of my major and discussing it with other students and professors from all over the U.S.,” said Walters. “Presenting at this conference was an exceptional learning experience, and I'm so grateful I had the opportunity!”

Walters’ adviser Dr. Kristianne Kalata, director of Westminster’s Honors Program and associate professor of English, accompanied Walters on the trip and also presented research. “Doing Honors at Small Colleges: Challenges, Opportunities, and Data" was delivered in collaboration with three colleagues from small college honors programs across the U.S.

Walters’ participation in this year’s NCHC conference was co-funded by Westminster’s Honors Program and the Drinko Center for Undergraduate Research.

The NCHC is an educational organization designed to develop, strengthen and promote undergraduate honors education. With nearly 900 member institutions and several hundred individual members, the organization supports over 330,000 honors students.

For more information about Westminster College’s Honors Program, click here.

More Stories