SPIRE Symposium

SPIRE Symposium, Monday, April 20, 2026, 9:00 AM-8:00 PM

See the 2025 event program HERE!

Your writing, research, and creative works are important to the Hood College community! The SPIRE Symposium is a celebration of campus scholarship and an opportunity for you to gain experience presenting your work to faculty, students, staff, and other interested members of the Hood community.

How can you participate?

Posters (a visual summary of a project that typically outlines background, methodology, results, and conclusions; presenters stand by their posters for an hour to discuss their work and answer questions from attendees.)
10-minute oral presentation (presenters verbally present their work to an audience, typically with visual aids like slides; each presentation is 10 minutes followed by 2 minutes for questions from the audience.)
20-minute panel (discussion among a small group of presenters on a specific topic; instead of a single speaker, a panel features multiple panelists who interact with each other and the audience.)
45-minute panel (discussion among a small group of presenters on a specific topic; instead of a single speaker, a panel features multiple panelists who interact with each other and the audience.)
Performance or reading (creative performance of music, singing, or acting as well as reading of original work (e.g., poem, short story); each presenter will have 10 minutes followed by 2 minutes for questions from the audience)
Original artwork (paintings, drawings, 3D artwork)

Special thanks to the Committee Members who put this event together:

SPIRES Planning Committee: Georgia Esipila, Sangeeta Gupta, Keri Keefer, Shannon Kundey, Lisa Littlefield, Lisa Marcus, Stephanie Masters, Jessica McManus (co-chair), Erik Messinger, Jacob Muldowney, Amber Samuels, Kristen Tzoc, and Meredith Yeager (co-chair)

SPIRE Symposium applications are being accepted!

Priority Registration Application Deadline Feb. 27, 2026: https://hoodcollege.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6Ew1OomynDU675k

Applications submitted between February 28 to March 18: https://hoodcollege.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cGPjoy6LxnnTLpQ

Timeline of Important Dates

February 27 Priority Registration Deadline
March 6 Committee Meets to Review Priority Applications
March 9 Committee Sends Notifications (of acceptance or rejection) to Priority Applicants
March 9-15 Spring Break
March 18 Last Chance to Submit Application to the SPIRE Symposium
March 20 Committee Meets to Review New Applications and Organize Schedule of Events
March 23 Committee Sends Notification (of acceptance or rejection) to New Applicants
March 26 Library Workshop on Creating a Poster Presentations: 1-2 PM (in person) and 6-7 PM (Zoom)
March 30 Deadline for presenters to submit program corrections
April 3 Deadline for presenters to submit posters for printing and presentation materials for presentations
April 7-18 Presenters practice their presentations with mentors. Evaluators pre-evaluate submissions for awards.
April 20 SPIRE Symposium!

Application Template

Information you will need for your SPIRES submission:

If your presentation involves multiple persons, you will need their first and last names, their email addresses, and t-shirt sizes. If you are the only presenter, you just need your name, email, and t-shirt size. Please be sure that all spellings are correct.
The name of the department or area that best represents your submission (e.g., health sciences, business, study abroad).
The name and email address of your faculty mentor who is supporting your work (undergraduate and graduate students only).
The type of presentation that best represents your work. Work with your faculty mentor to determine the best fit. Options include:
- Posters (a visual summary of a project that typically outlines background, methodology, results, and conclusions; presenters stand by their posters for an hour to discuss their work and answer questions from attendees.)
- 10-minute oral presentation (presenters verbally present their work to an audience, typically with visual aids like slides; each presentation is 10 minutes followed by 2 minutes for questions from the audience.)
- 20-minute panel (discussion among a small group of presenters on a specific topic; instead of a single speaker, a panel features multiple panelists who interact with each other and the audience.)
- 45-minute panel (discussion among a small group of presenters on a specific topic; instead of a single speaker, a panel features multiple panelists who interact with each other and the audience.)
- performance or reading (creative performance of music, singing, or acting as well as reading of original work (e.g., poem, short story); each presenter will have 10 minutes followed by 2 minutes for questions from the audience)
- original artwork (paintings, drawings, 3D artwork)
- other (with space to specify)
Title of your presentation
Description of your work (50 words or less).
- The description should provide enough detail so that members of the Hood community can know what to expect from your presentation.
- Need examples? Click here for last year’s program!
- Work with your faculty mentor to develop your description.
If you need any special equipment, technology, or other considerations for your presentation, there will be space on the application to let us know.

9:00-10:00: Undergraduate Student and Faculty/Staff Poster Presentations
10:10-10:55: Undergraduate and Faculty/Staff Oral Presentations/Panels/Performances Session 1
11:00-11:45: Undergraduate and Faculty/Staff Oral Presentations/Panels/Performances Session 2
11:50-12:35: Undergraduate and Faculty/Staff Oral Presentations/Panels/Performances Session 3
1:15-2:15: Undergraduate Student and Faculty/Staff Poster Presentations
2:30-5:00: Tischer Honor’s Scholar Presentations and Reception
5:30-6:30: Graduate Student and Faculty/Staff Oral Presentations/Panels/Performances Sessions
6:45-7:45: Graduate Student and Faculty/Staff Poster Presentations

2023 SPIRES

Thank you to all of the students who participated in and attended SPIRES 2023! It was a full day of learning, featuring 39 presentations (of which 20 were Tischer Scholar presentations), 27 posters presented by 51 students, and 20 students showcasing their artwork. Some students were involved in multiple presentations/posters.

2023 Christine P. Tischer Scholars Program

2023 SPIRE Symposium Program

To check out some of the recorded presentations, click the links below:

Recorded Events