Back from the 2018 TPA Conference
Tennessee Philological Association Logo, Image Source: Facebook
I’m back from the 2018 Tennessee Philological Conference and I thought it was a great conference! There were tons of awesome presenters and I was able to present my paper as well and it seemed to go over pretty well, so, I enjoyed it very much! The conference shifts between east, middle, and west Tennessee (we’re a wide state in the US) and it was in the (I think) the east part of the state. I’m not sure if I can make it if it is in the western part of the state as that would be a long drive for me, but I would certainly like to do so, if at all possible.
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Tennessee Tech University, Henderson Hall (where the 2018 TPA Conference was held), Image Source: Wikipedia
Tennessee Tech. University
This year, the conference was held at Tennessee Tech University (TTU) in Cookeville, TN and I have to say thanks to the students and administrators. They were extremely nice–to the student who gave me great landmarks to get to the designated parking lot, to the secretaries for pointing me in the right direction to the conference location on–campus, they were really a nice group of people.
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Cookeville, Tennessee, Image Source: Swallowsinsurance.com
Cookeville was also interesting. I’d never been before, so it was interesting to see what another college town (Murfreesboro could also be considered a college town) looked like. It seemed smaller than Murfreesboro, but no less vibrant. I only got to see a little of it–the campus environs and the apartment complexes close to campus, and the main “strip” of businesses devoted to serving the college students, but it really seemed like a cool place. The drive wasn’t bad–only about an hour from Murfreesboro. It was a Thurs evening., Friday, and Saturday morning Conference. I could only make the Friday events, but I stayed the entire day–including for the reception and banquet Friday evening and had a great time!
Familiar Faces and New
So, I didn’t take as many pictures as I should have–that’s my one main regret. I was so focused on getting there, listening to the speakers, presenting my own paper, and generally trying to take in the experience, that I realized that I didn’t take nearly enough pictures. I was, however, able to get pictures with two of my favorite professors from UTC, Dr. Rehyansky and Dr. Shawen (I didn’t get explicit permission, so I won’t put them in the post), but I’m glad that I was able to do that and will be putting those pictures in my photo album. I met several new people from the conference and hope to see them again next year if I’m able to attend. All in all, it was a great experience that I hope I’m able to repeat next year! 
