Seminar success...!

The seminar I did today was an overwhelming success, and the primary research I did really saved the day. I was able to talk to the class about the surveys I did, the interviews I conducted with members of the administration, and everyone seemed genuinely interested. My professor warned me from the start that primary research was not necessary and would, in fact, be a lot more work than he was expecting us to do. However, with the topic I chose, there really was no way around the primary research. No book or scholarly article would have given me the background necessary to doing the topic justice. Of course, I did find a number of articles and one very helpful book that aided in giving me background on foreign exchange programs in general. But, I learned the importance of doing primary research and how it can strengthen one's paper or presentation. I'm glad I had the chance to get my feet wet, and look forward to the research I'll need to do for my thesis project and paper!