Part of our college graduation requirement was to deliver a “Senior Seminar” in our chosen field of study. This was essentially an in-depth presentation on a faculty-approved topic related to our studies. Each department’s students sacrificed a few Saturday mornings during our final semester and took turns presenting our topic to the department faculty and an audience of our peers.
Although it’s not always the case, science presentations can be boring. All of us biology majors had to sit through some dry (but meticulously researched and well-sourced) student lectures. Most of the bio presentations were either in the pre-med concentration or the ecological field of study.
You may remember from a previous post that I had fallen behind in my major early on in my academic pursuits. As part of an attempt to catch up, I did a summer project where I went out into a wooded area near my house and repeatedly set out 25 small live traps to perform a wildlife survey. I set out little red flags to mark the spots to place the traps, and six or eight times I baited them with various seeds and left them out overnight. It was fairly involved and I thought I’d be able to write up a report to obtain a few college credits for this study. Well, that didn’t work out, but since I had already done it, I figured I’d do my senior seminar on it.
Overall it went well. After hearing so many abstract presentations that were difficult to grasp meaningfully, the biology professors seemed to enjoy hearing about an experiment that one of the students actually conducted in the field. In fact this presentation was the only one that drew questions from all of the faculty members. One of my non-biology housemates showed up to support me, too, which meant a lot. I ended up getting a very good grade, and I probably allowed it to inflate my ego a little more than I should have.
Weeks later one of the biology professors approached me and said “we have a campus-wide visit day coming up for prospective students. As part of the programming, each department has a current student give a presentation for visiting students interested in those respective majors. Would you be interested in delivering your senior seminar on behalf of the biology department that day?”
It was an honor, for sure. It would be good resume fodder, and it looked like I could get a bit more mileage out of that summer project, so I agreed. I gathered my notes, looked at the feedback I got from my seminar and made adjustments, and rehearsed as the event drew near.
The day eventually came, and I waited in the lecture hall prepared to do my presentation for the numerous prospective biology students that would surely come to tour the campus that day. I had no idea how many visiting students would show, but I was ready. I had even started getting cocky by this point. “They asked me to do my presentation, probably because it stood out so much. I don’t even have to do a great job; it’s not like this is a class of my peers…these will only be high school kids.”
Well, that guy still had some growing up to do, and his lesson was about to begin.
The clock kept ticking and it was nearly time to start, but nobody showed up. Finally, one student and one of their parents came into the lecture hall. There was nobody else.
Whichever professor represented the biology department that day spoke a little about the department, introduced me, then let me take it away. It felt weird, playing to an “audience of one” (and their mom or dad) who sat in the back row of a theater-style lecture hall. It felt like sort of a waste, but I went through the entire presentation again.
This time at the end, when I asked for questions, there were absolutely none. The visiting student just wanted to get out of there and stop hearing about the mice I’d caught.
It was a lot different from the first time around. I have no idea if that student chose to attend my alma mater, or if maybe they decided right then and there to look for a different school and/or major because they were afraid they’d have to go out in the woods and try to catch mice or something.
Well, the experience helped bring me back to earth. It helped me better understand the concept of playing for an audience of one. As Christians, we need to be careful about whose approval we seek. It’s also important to examine our motivations. Are we working for Christ’s glory, or our own? Yes we all have talents, but are we using them in ways that would make God happy? I don’t know who I’m talking to right now, but someone reading this needs to think about how they’d feel if they’re busy using their talents or resources when Jesus taps them on the shoulder and says “I can see what’s in your heart, you know.”
We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our heart. 1 Thessalonians 2:4b
Lord Jesus, there are things you’ve done in my life that make me uniquely prepared to serve you in certain capacities. Although some of my experience comes from things I’ve worked hard to earn, help me to recognize that You ultimately control what direction my life takes. Please show me the places in my own mind and attitude where I need to make adjustments in order to ensure I’m working to glorify You and not me. Amen