EWU McNair Scholar Badradin Mohammed recently attended two conferences: the 10th Annual Black Doctoral Network Conference in Atlanta, GA, and the American Anthropological Association’s Annual Meeting in Seattle, WA. Badradin is an International Affairs major, earning a minor in Political Science. His 2022 Summer Research Internship mentors were Dr. Kristin Edquist and PhD Candidate Alberto Felix Beltran.
The theme of the Black Doctoral Network’s conference was Black Excellence, Brilliant Minds: The Power of Diversity. Here, Badradin presented his research Water Politics: Changing Geo-politics and Changing Climate in the Nile Basin on a panel followed by an engaged Q + A session. Badradin’s work focuses on the effectiveness of the Nile Basin Initiative, aiming to offer a balanced perspective on Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan’s differing viewpoints when considering the expected future challenges of water scarcity, population growth, and climate change. The most thought-provoking question he received concerned the impacts of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the communities living in surrounding rural areas. He also presented his research poster on the same topic. Badradin appreciated the opportunity to network, and to see research posters in a variety of fields, getting a sense of what his peers are working on, and learning research was being done on topics he hadn’t considered – such as how to identify fake accounts on LinkedIn!
Badradin did not present at the American Anthropological Association conference, but attended an eight-hour intensive workshop on academic publishing with many professors and post docs. This gave Badradin a sense of how academic publishing works, how to prepare his work for success, as well as a background on the biases that may be encountered.
Badradin’s had this advice for fellow McNair scholars and undergraduates who are considering presenting or attending a conference:
When it comes to presenting, the most important thing is to stay true to yourself. Attend every panel, presentation, and networking opportunity that interests you – it might be your only chance, and you will learn something new.
