The Beacon Conference

Celebrating Student Scholars at Two-Year Colleges in the Mid-Atlantic Region

The 2021 Beacon Conference drew submissions from 19 community colleges in 4 Mid-Atlantic states. In total, 33 two-year colleges and 35 four-year institutions have been involved in the event. Because of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 conference was conducted remotely via Zoom.

To view the full conference Program click here. Papers presented by Panel Award Winners will be published in the Proceedings of the 2021 Beacon Conference to be available on this website by the end of July.

Why Beacon?

Find A Mentor

Receive guidance from an enthusiastic faculty member who has expertise in your topic's field. Enhance your questions, ideas, arguments, and presentation.

Get Academic Writing Experience

Refine, revise, expand, and meticulously document sustained academic prose.

Present To An Enthusiastic Audience

Present your work to a judge, other panel presenters, and a mix of faculty, family, and friends, all listening closely and able to ask questions about your work.

Receive Recognition

Panel presenters have submitted the best, most interesting papers, and they compete for Panel Awards that include monetary prizes and publication.

Get Conference Experience

Participate in this academic and professional conference, presenting your ideas and listening to others' ideas, and gain a range of experiences that encourage further development of valuable skills that transfer into many other contexts.

Complete Extended Research

Return to a favorite project, broaden its scope, reconsider its findings, or dive into additional data, reports, or criticism.