The day of transformation took place Friday, Nov. 13, in Washburn Room A, in the upper level of the Memorial Union from noon to 2 p.m. The Day of Transformation is a chance for students to present their completed WTE project to the public, students, faculty and guests. The Day of Transformation is about two weeks before the end of each semester. There are four WTE areas that students are encouraged to complete: community service, international education, leadership, and scholarly or creative.  

All presentations at the Day of Transformation were poster presentations. Student presenters and their faculty mentors provided a free lunch prior to the poster presentations.  Following that, students began their presentations.

The projects varied between the four WTE areas, such as internships at the Topeka Police Department, studying abroad in Japan and scholarly projects like psychology research. There were students who conducted surveys and did research related to campus and there were students who shared experiences that transformed the way they live their own lives.

“I did an internship at the Topeka Police Department, specifically in the crime-victims assistant unit,” said Cari Howarter, senior psychology major. “What we did there was help people move past what has happened to them and stand up on their own.”

Many of the students received first-hand experience as an intern or from research and experimentation. They learned more in-depth information by working alongside professionals within their field of study.

“My project is a psychology capstone about perceptions of mental illness and criminal behavior, and whether there is a connection between the two. I started last semester with a little review, and then continued this semester with experimenting.” said Tori Carter, senior psychology and history dual major. “It has been pretty eye opening because I want to go into graduate school for psychology, so this is something I will have to do quite a few more times.”

Many of the students that studied abroad used photographs and stories to explain the experiences they encountered while outside the United States. They learned about the culture, economy and lifestyle in the places they visited.

The Washburn Transformational Experience is a program that was created in order to provide Washburn students with opportunities and experiences.  The main objective of the program is to transform students into a new kind of individual.