Oct 10, 2022
LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN ROTARY SEMINAR
The Rotary clubs of Shepherdstown and Martinsburg held their 34th Annual World Affairs Seminar for Eastern Panhandle high school students on Wednesday, October 5.
This year's seminar was entitled "Social Media: The Challenges and Opportunities at Local and Global Levels." It was held at Shepherd University, in the Storer Ballroom.
A total of 120 student service club members and student leaders participated from six Panhandle high schools: Berkeley Springs, Hedgesville, Spring Mills, Martinsburg, Musselman, and Washington. Ten faculty advisors accompanied them.
The seminar featured a panel discussion with four speakers.
Dr. Matthew Kushin, Professor of Communication at Shepherd University, discussed the question "Does Social Media Actually Make Us Happy?"
Dr. Jennifer Rowan, Director of Technology for Jefferson County Schools, discussed "Tapping the Value of Digital Citizenship in Learning Today."
Michéa Dawson, a Shepherd University Communication Major, offered a student's perspective on "Navigating Modern Social Media."
Finally, Ashley Horst, Executive Director of The Stubblefield Institute at Shepherd, discussed "Civility in the Global Village."
Following the panel discussion, the participating students broke off into discussion groups and then presented the results of their own discussions in a final plenary session. Each group was asked to develop two initiatives related to the seminar topic, and the participating service clubs at the schools were encouraged to follow up on these initiatives with mentoring support from Shepherd University communication majors and their own school's student advisors.
Copies of the seminar speakers' presentations can be found online at https://isc.shepherdstownrotary.org/world-affairs-seminar/2022-seminar/. For more information contact Shepherdstown Rotary club member Richard Anson, who moderated the seminar, at ranson_wv@yahoo.com.