Towards the end of the Summer, my faculty (Sarah Williams) encouraged me to send in an abstract relating to cacao fermentation and human gestation, relating the two. When my abstract was accepted and I was invited to present at the Food, Fermentation, and Feminism Conference at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, I was floored. Being the only Undergraduate presenting there, I was intimidated to say the least. Although I was surrounded by many strong women, which left me feeling incredibly empowered. I especially admired the two people on my panel I presented alongside. One person being S.E. Nash, a fermentation artist. After the conference I used the basis of my presentation for my Senior Capstone project; creating an interdisciplinary paper that encompasses science, poetry, and art.
I am incredibly thankful to have opportunities to study what I am passionate about at Evergreen and never would have dreamed that I would be presenting about a topic I care so much about at an academic conference.