I really enjoyed getting to travel to Atlanta for the SEPA Conference. I have never been to Atlanta before so it was fun to explore the city in addition to presenting our own research. As soon as Lexi and I arrived in Atlanta and settled into our hotel, we immediately got on the MARTA with other Rollins students who also were at the conference with us and went to Centennial Park. The park was beautiful because was surrounded by many skyscrapers and had several large fountains in the middle. It had a huge open space for people to walk, play, and sit. Across from the park there was the aquarium and the Coca-Cola Factory. We wanted to go to the Coke Factory, but unfortunately it was closed so continued to walk around the park and then went to dinner shortly after. We went to this restaurant near the hotel we stayed at called Cook Hall, where I got delicious duck tacos. After dinner, Lexi and I prepared for our poster session and then went to bed.

The park…

Friday morning was our poster session and it went really well; our project was called “The Growth Mindset and College Success” and based on research we did at Rollins. People at the conference came up and talked to us about our poster, which made the hour and fifteen minutes fly by.

With our poster at the conference

With Dr Queen and Lexi

(To celebrate being done with our first poster session at SEPA, Dr. Queen took us to lunch. After lunch Lexi and I met up with another Rollins student and went back to the Coke Factory and rode on the Ferris Wheel. My favorite part about the Coke Factory was getting to try all the different types of Coke they have in different countries. We all tried around 100 different flavors of Coke, some not as good as others, but we did it for the experience. I loved exploring in Atlanta and getting to see some of the city in addition to taking my research on the road.)

Coke Museum