About Education Expo

Education Expo is our annual flagship event where students active in Bay Area university SPE chapters present their plastics-related projects, receive monetary scholarships and poster prizes, and network with industry professionals. The 2025 Expo took place at Chico State and included a student-led tour of the plastics processing lab. We plan to alternate locations between Chico State and SJSU campuses to empower the students and encourage cross-university collaborations.

Student Perspective: Education Expo Recap

By Sofia Malmhall, former President of SJSU Student Chapter

SPE’s Education Expo was my first ever experience at an event for professional development. I had never been to a poster session before, nor presented at one. In addition, presenting a PowerPoint to a group of strangers was particularly nerve-racking. I just didn’t know what to expect of the afternoon.

I watched all the student presenters in awe; they were all passionate about their projects and topics, and it was really amazing to be able to share a moment with them where they talked about how their research culminated into the work they were able to put on their poster. To be honest, I was even more anxious than before because I realized that I would probably be in their shoes in two years, and I felt a bit lost on how I was supposed to develop a project on the scale of theirs. 

In hindsight now, I truly value the early exposure to the research that was given a platform thanks to SPE and their Education Expo. Since April, I’ve had more research experience, thanks to a summer internship, and I now realize that conducting research and presenting a poster is not as daunting as it might have seemed. Though, that is not to say presenting is not intimidating. It can be hard to answer questions about your research that you hadn’t considered before and, because of that, I am still in awe of the fellow students presenting at the Expo at their dedication to their studies and their resilience. 

However, despite my apprehension at attending, I am glad that I was able to experience other students present and to give them my support.  I believe that they indirectly gave me the confidence to continue with research and present a poster of my own work during my summer internship. I would highly encourage anyone else who is interested in research, but is experiencing anxiousness and uneasiness about the thought of presenting or coming up with the research questions, to attend next year’s Education Expo. It’s a great, low-stakes experience where you can learn new things about the science and about yourself.