In August 2019, I presented my research on incumbency advantage in Virginia city council elections at the 2019 American Political Science Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.I had a poster presentation in a session with a number of graduate students. This was a unique experience because the conference did not use a physical poster, but instead I had to create a digital poster which was displayed on a TV screen in a room at the conference. This allowed them to switch between poster sessions quickly, which I found interesting. I also enjoyed the unique format because I felt less constrained in the amount of information I could include. On a physical poster, space is always an issue, and I would have had to cut some part of my presentation off of my poster if it were printed. However, the digital poster allowed me to include much more information and let my presentation flow in a more natural way. In addition to presenting my poster, I found APSA to be a valuable and enriching experience because of the interesting panels and presentations I attended, as well as the vendor fair where I learned about new tools, interesting publications, and career opportunities in political science. It was fascinating to walk around the convention hall and see everything the vendors had to offer. Overall, I thought presenting my research at the 2019 APSA Annual Meeting was enjoyable personally and valuable for my career. Participating in URSP this summer allowed me to have this opportunity, and I am thankful to the OSCAR team and to my mentor Professor McGrath for all the help in turning my project into what it became
