Bemidji State University students took a break from their class schedules to showcase all the work and projects they’ve been focusing on during throughout the year.

The annual BSU Student Achievement Conference is meant to show the high quality level education at the school. This year, more than 280 students participated. Some gave oral speeches about their research while most presented a poster project. Not only does the event give students a platform to show their work, it also offers them another opportunity to add extra skills to their resume.

Mahmoud Al-Odeh, Associate Professor Of Technology, Art, and Design, says, “This is a great opportunity for our students to tell the community how BSU, how the quality of education is here at BSU. Also, this event is not about showing the work of the students but also there’s another part of the event where we could help students to prepare for jobs, so as you know, the more activities they do, the more presentations they will do, the more items it will be on their resume, and therefore they will be more employable.”

Some of the students had been preparing for their projects since November. There’s also a wider community aspect to the fair. Many of the research projects were funded and sponsored by local area businesses.

Al-Odeh adds, “It’s not only faculty of BSU. We need to build a support environment for our students and this support environment can come from BSU faculty and the community as well. So we appreciate everyone who sponsored students or provided help to our students.”

All majors at BSU were featured at the conference, and students ranging from freshmen to seniors were represented.

By — Shirelle Moore