2023 Spring Zone 7 Meeting

Meeting Announcement

The Spring 2023 Zone Meeting for SPS Zone 7 was held on May 6, 2023, on the campus of Wayne State University. The meeting was locally hosted by the Wayne State University SPS Chapter (#7884). 

Meeting Information:

There is no cost for students to attend the zone meeting, but we are requesting all attendees fill out the online registration form.  Multiple registrants from the same institution can register on the same form, so make sure that you bring some friends!  Snacks, drinks, and a meal will be provided to all participants in person.  Components of the meeting will also be offered online in a hybrid format, as noted on the schedule, but we encourage everyone to attend in person if they can!  

Students do not need to be an SPS member to participate in the SPS zone meeting activities.  Of course, we encourage all students to join SPS to take advantage of its great benefits!

A limited amount of travel funding is available for undergraduate students.  The grants provide reimbursement for traveling to the meeting (primarily gas and parking).  Funding will be preferentially awarded to chapters that are outside of the metropolitan Detroit area and/or SPS members, particularly current and future chapter officers.  Travel scholarships are limited to one per institution, so traveling in groups is highly encouraged.   The application due date for these grants is May 2, 2023.   If you are interested in applying for a travel grant, please indicate your interest on the registration form.

If you have any questions about the meeting, please contact the Associate Zone Councilor or Zone Councilor.  Information and updates were posted to the SPS Zone 7 Discord server.

Zone Meeting Schedule

Location: Wayne State University Student Center, 5221 Gullen Mall, Detroit, MI 48202
Room:  2nd Floor, Hillberry Room A
Map & Parking:  Parking is available in Parking Structure #6.  See the Google Map or Printable Map for its location.
Online Sessions:  Links were sent to registrants, chapter officers, and chapter advisors prior to the meeting.

Saturday, May 6, 2023

12:00 pm-1:00 pm:  Arrival and Sign-In

1:00 pm -1:15: Opening Remarks by Jacob Callebs, WSU SPS President

1:15 pm-1:30 pm: Introductions by Attendees

1:30 pm-2:00 pm: SPS National Updates (hybrid)

Associate Zone Council Rebecca Abbott-McCune and Zone Councilor Ronald Kumon provided an overview of activities and programs offered by the SPS National Council.   [Slides]

2:00-3:00 pm: Chapter Activity Discussion (hybrid) 

Members discussed chapter activities during the past year as well as tactics for  student engagement.  The goal was to gain some ideas that students could take back to try in their chapters. In addition, they discussed strategies for writing an award-winning chapter report. [Slides]

3:00-3:45 pm: "The Path to Graduate School" (hybrid)

Zone Councilor Ronald Kumon provided an overview of how and why to apply to graduate school, including preparing for graduate studies, finding information about graduate programs, applying to programs, narrowing your choices, negotiating your offers, and succeeding in your program. [Slides]

3:45-4:45 pm:  Improving Chapter Networking in our Zone (hybrid)

We had a brainstorming session and discussion about ways chapters in our zone can network and interact with each other. 

4:45-5:00 pm:  Closing Remarks

5:00 pm: Meal & Other Fun Activities

We departed for a local restaurant to celebrate another successful year in Zone 7!  

Thank you to everyone who participated in the meeting!

We had 6 undergraduate students and 5 faculty members attend the meeting.  The meeting had representatives from Kettering University, Lawrence Technological University, the University of Detroit Mercy, and Wayne State University. A full report of the meeting, including photos, has been posted. 

Check back on the SPS Zone 7 web site for announcements about future zone meetings.