Building Confidence Through Conferences in Graduate Student Research

Portland, Oregon, is known for roses and microbreweries, but for Derrick Owusu and Dr. Marie Stango, Portland was known for one thing. The Rocky Mountain Workshop on African History was taking place there this year. The conference provided an opportunity for Idaho State University Graduate Scholar Owusu to present his research on mental health care in colonial Ghana. 

The pair is waiting for Owusu to present his thesis to other scholars. Stango had already presented her research on Liberian diplomacy and sat next to Owusu as they waited. She feels his anxiety and assures him that he will do fine. 

The journey to get to this conference was difficult and stressful. As noted by Stango, “getting anywhere from Pocatello isn’t easy, you’ve got a full day of travel ahead of you”. 

Despite travel stress and conference jitters, Stango enjoyed getting to know a new side of Owusu on this trip, beyond his serious academic nature. 

Owusu is a graduate student from Ghana who spends most of his time focusing on his research. But when he isn’t studying, Owusu loves to watch WWE. As a kid, Owusu would come home from school to his dad playing WWE on the television. 

“It was unexpected because Derrick is a very, very, serious and professional student,” Stango said. “So learning he liked WWE was like ‘oh, you do like fun things!’” 

Owusu chose ISU after reading the work of African History Scholar Dr. Raphael Chijioke Njoku. Owusu wanted to work with him, and after reaching out, Njoku encouraged him to apply to the ISU Graduate School. 

At ISU, few faculty members specialize in African History. Owusu specializes in Ghanaian history, and there is not a faculty member at ISU with the same specialty.  At this conference, however, fellow Ghanaian scholars would be there to network with. 

Despite the overlap with his work, this opportunity was not something that Owusu was seeking; rather, the conference was brought up to him.

Owusu was working as Stango’s teaching assistant when she emailed a call for submissions to the History Department. When Stango saw that Owusu was not applying, she met with him and encouraged him to submit. 

Owusu noted how he may not have submitted without Stango’s push. “My advice to other graduate students is - don’t be like Derrick,”  he said. “Trust me, maybe if she didn’t have that meeting with me, I wouldn't have submitted any paper.” 

After Owusu submitted to the conference, his paper was accepted, and the pair began to prepare.

“Students, I think, often need that kind of nudge because they don’t see themselves as researchers quite yet who can contribute to a body of knowledge,” Stango said, “But the whole point of graduate school is that you are creating new knowledge, right?” 

Having a graduate student alongside her was a chance for Stango to reimagine academic conferences. After years of presenting, the minutiae of conferences felt more exhausting than energizing. 

“Seeing Derrick so excited helped me remember that these conferences are an amazing opportunity to talk about your work with other people,” Stango noted. 

Back at The Rocky Mountain Workshop on African History, Owusu went up to present. 

Once he started speaking, he knew that he was capable. After the presentation, Owusu received positive feedback. He was told that many didn’t realize this was a graduate student’s paper until after they had read it. 

“I really felt great hearing all that positive feedback on my work,” Owusu said. “It makes you feel like, yes, you are really doing something incredible. It just puts you out there and kills any imposter syndrome.”  

This conference was a highlight of Owusu’s ongoing experience at the ISU Graduate School. He also enjoyed the 3MT (Three Minute Thesis) event, and plans on applying to compete this year. 

Stango mentioned how proud she was of Owusu. “Obviously, I think very highly of his work and the things he’s done, but it was so great to see that connection made with other faculty members,” she said.

Owusu appreciated Stango’s help.  “I’m not just saying this because she’s right here next to me, but Dr. Stango is really great,” he said. “ She sent the papers, she motivated us to apply, and she even looked through my slides before my presentation.”

After completing his master's degree, Owusu wants to apply for a Ph.D. program, and this conference was a step in that direction. 

“Hearing positive feedback made me think positively about getting into a Ph.D. program,” Owusu said.