By Christine Lyons

There was standing room only earlier this month at the 4th Annual SFU World Literature Student Conference on April 4th. This year’s theme “The Road Not Taken: What’s So Wrong with Difference?” drew both attendees and presenters from across faculties and disciplines at the university, including a presenter from the Faculty of Applied Science speaking about transnationalism and literature.

Alongside a team of about 40 people who planned and organized the conference, two of the conference’s organizers, Chance Daldy and Pracilla Naidu, said it was an unforgettable experience. Working with people both within their department and across the university, they say they made connections with people they would not usually have the opportunity to interact with and acquired invaluable skills in the process.

Naidu says keeping track of the large organizing team and helping individuals stay organized and on-task during the day was challenging, but seeing the day’s events go smoothly was most rewarding. Daldy says serving as both a presenter and moderator during the conference presented a unique challenge that required him to have “both an overview and a detailed perspective on the conference at the same time.”

Daldy and Naidu reported that the event went off with “hardly any hiccups” and that “having attendees approach us and compliment us on the success of the conference was inspiring to us both!” They say this year’s success belongs to everyone on the production team and their advice to next year’s organizers? “Keep the team big and feeling involved is key to a successful event. Communication and organization make this really easy to do, but also easy to miss. Inclusivity is key!”