A social work conference will take place at WTAMU on Oct. 21 for students who wish learn more about the world of social work.

“It would be a great opportunity for all people in the (social work) major to come and learn and see what you could do by your senior year,” Cara Speer, Bachelor of Social Work Fields Coordinator, said.

The free conference will not only allow social work majors to attend, but all students of WT. It will offer a variety of specific workshops, from getting to know WT social work professors for the freshman to putting a résumé together for the seniors. There will also be a field fair, allowing the students to have time to explore career opportunities after graduation and possible internship placement.“The biggest thing you can gain from the conference is the networking you do,” Anthony Inman, a senior Social Work major, said. “There are outside agencies there looking for field placement students. Even if you choose not to be a student in their field placement, you’ve met those people and you know what they do. If you need them later…there’ll bend over backwards to help you out.”

The conference will be put on by students. Senior social work majors will set up and run the entire conference including teaching the workshops and ordering lunch for an expected 150 to 200 attendees.

“We have a say in everything, like the food and workshops and basically everything we want it to be about,” Lauren Paris, a senior Social Work major, said. “It’s for our fellow students so we know what they want to hear.”

Even though professors will not teach the workshops, the students are qualified to do so, according to Inman, who will be teaching the Time Management workshop.

“I’m a full-time youth pastor, a full-time student, I have a wife and two kids, and I volunteer at some of the schools around here, so time management is something I do on a daily basis,” Inman said.

According to Speer, some students cringe at the thought of an all-day conference, but said they have received good feedback in the past and most students will not walk away disappointed.

“It’s a lot of fun, there’s a lot of energy in the room and people usually love it,” Speer said.