Westminster College completes symposium series

Students wait for a Hancock Symposium lecture to begin at Westminster College. Speakers were spread out across Wednesday and Thursday at the college.
Students wait for a Hancock Symposium lecture to begin at Westminster College. Speakers were spread out across Wednesday and Thursday at the college.

Westminster College hosted its annual Hancock Symposium this week, bringing in guest speakers from across the country to speak at the college.

This year marked the 17th Hancock Symposium, with the first being in 2006. The symposium is spread across two days of lectures, where classes at the college are cancelled so students can attend as many lectures as they would like.

The theme for this year's symposium was "the changing nature of work and play." This theme focused on changes to how work and play are conducted, with the speakers reflecting on those ideas and showcasing the impact of the changes that are occurring.

Guest speakers were from every field and each offered their individual perspectives. On Wednesday, Linda Dunikoski was one of the speakers. She is a senior assistant district attorney for Cobb County District Attorney's Office in Georgia, and was also the lead prosecutor in the Ahmaud Arbery case in 2021.

Dunikoski spoke to students and guests about her history in the field of law, and her experiences serving as a prosecutor.

Another speaker on Wednesday was Katie Sowers, who was the first female and openly gay person to coach on a Super Bowl team. Sowers spoke about her experiences as a coach, and some of the challenges she has faced along the way. She also offered students pieces of advice to stay positive.

The headlining speaker for Wednesday was Nick Cave, a world-renowned artist based out of Chicago who is originally from Fulton. Cave spoke about about his signature artwork called Soundsuits, which are wearable pieces of art meant to hide any identifying features about the wearer.

Cave also talked about how he got his start as an artist in Fulton and the process he goes through when making a new piece of art.

On Thursday, former Missouri Governor Jay Nixon spoke at the symposium. Nixon spoke about his history with politics, and his history as Missouri Governor. He talked to students about the role they play in politics, and how they are important in the political world.

After Nixon's lecture, he did an extended question and answer segment where he took questions from students and guests in attendance.

Other speakers on Thursday included Debbie Rhea, founder and director of the LiiNK Project at Texas Christian University. Jordan Reeves was going to speak on Thursday, but had to cancel.