“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” was a phrase delivered by former president Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first inaugural address. This is a quote that is iconic for inspiring courage in people.

For some people, presenting research in front of professionals with Ph. Ds would leave them paralyzed with fear and lacking courage. For Zac Yonko, a senior English major, the challenge is welcomed.

“It isn’t intimidating at all,” said Yonko. “Our professors at Waynesburg prepare us really well to present critical theory research.”

Yonko, along with several other students from the English Department, traveled to Indianapolis to attend and present at the Popular Culture Association Conference. Dr. Jamie Dessart, a professor of English at Waynesburg, finds the conference extremely beneficial for her students’ development.

“It’s great for them in terms of exposure” said Dessart. “It’s also great for them to see how their ideas stack up against other people’s and for them to even be influenced by other people’s work.”

Many of the students presented research in the science fiction and fantasy division on various items they enjoy, such as TV shows and movies.

“We have someone presenting on gender roles in Harry Potter, feminine Celtic mythology in Legend of Zelda and Riverdale,” said Dessart.
“They are taking classic ideas from literature and applying them to popular culture.

A lot of students use papers they have written for me in upper division classes so they have to transition that paper to a presentation which can be difficult.”

The environment in the conference not only helped the students gain connections and exposure, but it also was enjoyable for everyone involved, including senior English major Shawn White.

“I went last year and it was great to go again,” said White. “You get to see people that not only love pop culture, but they are also scholars who put together presentations with grounded and scholarly academic work and it is really interesting to see what they produce.”

The PCA is not only beneficial to the students going to the conference, it helps Waynesburg gain recognition from bigger schools and even from the conference as a whole.

“Last year, the head of the sci-fi and fantasy division said to me that Waynesburg is single handedly reinvigorating the PCA especially the science fiction and fantasy,” said Dessart. “The conference really likes having us and they know our name now. Our name is really getting out there.”

Waynesburg has used the PCA to help get on the map and offer students a chance to explore what popular culture has to offer them.

While Waynesburg may be small in size, it has a lot of big school capabilities.