By Krista Tripodi
Dust off those old religion papers and get to work because it could be worth $1000.
The fourth annual Religious Education Student Symposium is coming up in March and it is time for students to submit their entries.
The symposium showcases faith promoting research papers of BYU undergraduate and graduate students.
The papers due Nov. 26, are required to be 10 to 12 pages in length and focus on a topic of religious significance.
The symposium committee receives about 100 entries each year and half are chosen to present at the symposium, said Patty Smith, the supervisor of the Fac-ulty Support Center at the College of Religious Education and a committee member.
?This is good opportunity to begin research and writing and to get involved in a symposium setting,? said Matt Grey, 25, a senior from Frankfort, Ill. majoring in Near Eastern studies.
Grey has participated in the symposium for the last three years as a student and is now on the symposium committee.
The top award for those chosen to present their papers is $1000.
Even without the award money, this is still a worthwhile activity, said Richard Bennett, a professor of Church History and Doctrine and the founder of the symposium.
?It?s a wonderful training ground for graduate school and for job training,? he said. ?It?s a rich experience all around.?
Approximately half of the papers presented at the conference are published, regardless of whether or not they are awarded a monetary prize, Bennett said.
Bennett said he had the idea for the symposium after hearing Elder Henry B. Eyring speak at a faculty-training meeting.
Elder Eyring said it was the hope of the Board of Trustees that BYU students would publish their work before graduating, Bennett said.
The symposium program is the largest program the College of Religious Education has that involves only students.
Students from a variety of majors and backgrounds participate in the symposium, Smith said.
After the student presents his paper, a professor offers suggestions and the audience gets to ask questions, she said.
The symposium gives talented students the chance to get involved with religious education, Gray said. For more information contact the College of Religious Education.
