The sixteenth annual City College Honors Program Student conference began with coffee and snacks outside of the Business-Communication Forum, where students and faculty members waited anxiously for the event to begin.

This year’s theme for the submissions was ‘Seeking Alternatives,’ chosen a year in advance by the English 292 honors classes and Professor Melanie Eckford-Prossor.

During the opening ceremony, Co-President of the Honors Program Tim Sisneros introduced and interviewed art student Myrth Tan regarding the poster she curated for the contest.

The poster paralleled the theme and displayed what she thought of ‘seeking alternatives.’

Tan said she interpreted the theme as “looking outside of whatever you’re trapped in.”

Tan is an international student from Singapore and she said she hopes to continue her art education at the University of Los Angeles.

A majority of the conference consisted of students sharing their essays, works of art, videos and presentations in a panel style. Three to four students would share their pieces, followed by the audience asking them various questions.

The conference heard from 20 students in total.

Student Perisa Brown gave a presentation on “Seeking Freedom from North Korean Prison Camps” on the ‘Making Alternative Stories’ panel.

Brown expressed her personal interest in North Korea, specifically the prison camps.

“It’s ridiculous that something hasn’t happened already,” she said.

Brown had researched the life of Shin Dong-hyuk, a young North Korean man who was born and raised in a prison camp and escaped in his mid-twenties. Her presentation focused on Dong-hyuk and her interest in his chaotic life.

Eckford-Prossor that she enjoyed sitting and listening to the questions the audience came up with for the student creators. She described the Honors students as “pretty inspiring.”