I went to the 3rd annual student peace conference on April 14, 2016. I was invited to attend by the professor of my Introduction to Peace Studies class, Dr. John Carlarne. The speakers I had the pleasure to listen to were Dr. Danielle Poe and Dr. Craig Hovey. I was most interested in Dr. Poe’s presentation, as she spoke about the different ways in which we can identify and respond to aggression and use tools to spread an interest in peace amongst our peers.
Her lecture introduced me to new ways to understand the emotions involved in verbal conflict. I began to understand parts of my own life in new way that I had not considered before, and then I learned how to deal with these things. I am so glad I went to this conference because it was eye-opening for me to see how little I knew about my own life and how seemingly insignificant things were perpetuating prejudice and stereotypes. Things that I could change within myself and in the people around me.