Convention Presentation Award

NEHS is proud to offer an exceptional, fully-funded opportunity for student members (accompanied by a fully-funded Chapter Advisor) to present at the 2027 English Honor Societies Convention in Milwaukee, WI, this March. Winning students will take the stage before an audience of scholars, educators, and peers, engaging at a level typically reserved for undergraduate and graduate students. This is far more than just a presentation opportunity: it is an academic experience that challenges students to refine their public speaking, critical analysis, and scholarly voice.

As presenters, students contribute original perspectives to meaningful academic conversations while connecting with scholars and researchers who can offer insight into future study and career pathways. The experience recognizes not only academic excellence, but also intellectual initiative, independence, and the ability to engage deeply with complex texts and ideas. 

To be selected is to be recognized for outstanding scholarly potential and a commitment to advancing conversations in the field. This is a rare opportunity to distinguish yourself on an international stage and to make a lasting mark within the English Honor Societies community.

Sample abstracts and presentations are available at the foot of this page.

Awards

The NEHS Convention Presentation Award provides opportunities for up to 4 pairs of student winners from different NEHS chapters to attend and present at the English Honor Societies convention. A Chapter Advisor must accompany each pair of students.

The fully funded trip for 2 students and a Chapter Advisor for each selected chapter will include round-trip transportation, 3-nights’ accommodation at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee Hotel, and a food and drink allowance for the duration of the NEHS event. This award is applicable to students within mainland North America. Students and Chapter Advisors from chapters located elsewhere are welcome to apply but should contact Christopher Lockwood, NEHS Director, for further information about logistics.

NEW: Runners up will be invited to attend the English Honor Societies convention and participate in an Academic Poster session. NEHS will cover the cost of poster printing and shipping.

Eligibility

1. Students must be student members at active Chapters at the time their work is submitted and throughout the convention. Students cannot have graduated prior to the end of the convention.
2. The accompanying Chapter Advisor must be registered in NEHS Connect at the time work is submitted and throughout the convention.

Submission Requirements

Abstracts (September/October)

1. Students must work in pairs, and a Chapter Advisor must submit work on behalf of the pair of students. Chapter Advisors can only submit work for 1 pair of students from their school.
2. The Chapter Advisor must submit two unique, innovative, insightful, and thought-provoking presentation abstracts (300-350 words), created by the students, that outline a presentation that will analyze the context, setting, characters, plot, literary devices, and/or themes within the following texts that will be evident in the final presentation. One abstract must examine Angie Cruz’s Dominicana while the other must analyze Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park.
3. Students in the pair can work on both abstracts and final presentations together or separately, but each presentation will be given separately.
4. The submitted abstracts and final presentations must have been created exclusively by one or both members of the pair. The Chapter Advisor responsible will be asked to confirm this.
5. The titles of both abstracts should be descriptive of the content of the presentation.
6. A 150-word (max.) third-person biography and high-resolution portrait photo of each student writer must be included.
7. Applicants must agree that they are willing to provide a written report and photos detailing the impact the award has had on them, which can be used by NEHS to promote this and other opportunities in future years should they win an award.

We highly recommend students consider sharing work with, and receiving feedback from, other NEHS student members and Chapter Advisors prior to submission.

Students and Chapter Advisors will be notified on initial acceptance in October. NEHS reserves the right to deny final acceptance if selected students do not meet the requirements outlined below.

Presentation Content Workshop (November)

Selected pairs of students will refine their abstracts into clear, focused, and academic conference-level work. Students will strengthen their central arguments, improve their literary analysis, and begin developing a plan for their PowerPoint or Keynote presentation. Each student will leave the workshop with a strong plan with a clear analytical and critical foundation.

This workshop is for students only.

Presentation Skills Workshop (December)

This workshop focuses on building confidence and effective delivery for a professional academic setting among all the presenting students. Students will work on clarity and audience engagement while learning how to communicate complex ideas concisely. Students will feel more confident presenting their work with clarity and purpose.

This workshop is for students only.

Presentations Dry-Run (January)

Pairs of students will participate in an obligatory dry run of their presentations with the NEHS Director. During this session, students will deliver their full presentation and bring together the skills developed in both the Presentation Content Workshop and Presentation Skills Workshop. They will receive targeted feedback on both content and delivery, allowing them to make final refinements ahead of the Cohort Feedback Workshop.

Students and Chapter Advisors must be present at this meeting.

Cohort Feedback Workshop (February)

In this collaborative session, all presenting students will share their near-final presentations and engage in structured peer feedback. Feedback will help student presenters refine both their content and delivery through constructive critique and discussion.

This workshop is for students only.

Submission Process

1. All submissions must be made via the NEHS AwardSpring platform during the Fall Awards Cycle.
2. Student members must find a partner to work with on the two abstracts. Each abstract must be between 300-350 words and be submitted in PDF (.pdf) format. Other formats will not be accepted.
3. Students must give their abstracts to their Chapter Advisor for submission along with a 150-word (max.) third-person biography and high-resolution portrait photo.
4. The Chapter Advisor must confirm that the abstracts were written exclusively by the students.
5. The Chapter Advisor will submit the two abstracts, the full names of the students in the pair, their school email addresses, their biographies, and their portrait photos.
6. Applicants must agree that they are willing to provide a written report and photos detailing the impact the creative process and award has had on them, which can be used by NEHS to promote this and other opportunities in future years should they win an award.

Evaluation Process

1. All submissions will be evaluated by members of the NEHS Advisory Council.
2. Both abstracts will be evaluated against a rubric containing (but not limited to) the following categories:
   • Quality of content
   • Level of originality/ability to engage an audience
   • Quality of research undertaken
   • Quality of analysis/engagement with the text

Sample Submission Materials

The sample materials below represent previous submisisons to the Convention Presentation Award and provide a good example of the quality of analytical and critical skill that the evaluation committee is looking for in submitted work: