John Walkup
Emeritus Professor of Engineering
Texas Tech University
Faculty Commons National Representative
Can you recall the first time you presented a paper at a professional conference?
Mine came in my first months as an assistant professor when I attended an international optics conference in Ottawa, Canada. I recall it as a rather scary experience.
There was a professor from France who made critical comments after several papers which preceeded mine. I’m sure I prayed for the Lord to give me extra grace and an ability to stay focused (pun intended) on what I was going to say.
The Importance Of Encouragement
Fortunately the critical professor left just before I was introduced. Whew, was I relieved!! While I can’t recall whether my session chairperson that day was encouraging, I’ve since come to realize how important such encouragement can be to a speaker, whether or not they are newly minted Ph.D.’s as was I.
One thing that drove that home to me was my own experiences chairing paper sessions over the years. I was sort of amazed, several years back, when I was talking to a Christian friend from another university who told me that I had chaired the session in which he presented one of his first conference papers. He said that he knew I was a believer and that my smile and attitude in introducing him and his paper had helped put him at ease and ministered to him.
In Ways Small Or Large
It reminded me that little things can go a long way in projecting our love for the Lord and His love for those around us. Having been in some sessions where some amazingly harsh comments or questions marked the follow-up Q & A (example: “Do you mean to tell me that someone actually PAID for this research?”), I think that as believers we need to set an example when we have those responsibilities.
Each of us has many opportunities to encourage and mentor colleagues when we go to professional conferences. It may not be while presiding over a session, but could occur during coffee breaks, at meals, or at other times. My prayer is that we’ll go with the attitude of asking Christ to love and encourage those around us, and that in either small or large ways, His love will be reflected in our conduct.
© 2006 John Walkup