Our 2026 Summer Conference: Plain Roots: Community, Story, and Support for Higher Education is now over.
Summer Conference in Middlebury, Indiana
June 26 — 27, 2026
Essenhaus Inn and Conference Center
Plain Roots: Community, Story, and Support for Higher Education
A conference designed to connect those with a Plain background who are seeking or have sought education while welcoming anyone interested in the culture and conversations around it — all are invited!
What to Expect
- Panels featuring current students, professionals, and authors sharing their experiences in education and beyond
- Presentations on specialty topics and individual education journeys
- Two shared meals with opportunities to connect, converse, and build community with fellow attendees
Registration & Accommodations
- Two tiers: most will pay $100, but reduced to $50 for those with reduced ability to pay and those attending only on Saturday
- Includes Friday dinner and Saturday lunch
- Lodging available through the Essenhaus Inn, Airbnb, and local host families (more information to come on host families)
Registration Deadline
Deadline for registration has been extended to June 24, 2026
Register below or directly through Eventbrite
Plain Roots Conference Schedule
Friday, June 26, 2026
1:00 pm — Registration
2:00 pm — Opening talk: From a Lone Scholar to Creating a Community for Educated Formerly Amish
Speaker: Saloma Miller Furlong
2:30 pm — Presentations on Pennsylvania Dutch Projects
- Eythana Miller, Heritage in Translation: the oral history of an unconventional Amish community
- Rose Fisher, The Pennsylvania Dutch Dialects Project
- Eythana Miller and Rose Fisher, Teaching people to write Pennsylvania Dutch
3:45 pm — Break
4:00 pm — Author panel John Yoder, Albert Miller, and Saloma Furlong (moderated by Eythana Miller)
5:00 pm — Close for the day; move from conference center to restaurant for dinner
Saturday, June 27, 2026
8:30 am — Naomi Clark and Sharon Beachy
9:15 am — ADSF: Where we started and where we are today, Emma Miller, Naomi Kramer Yoder, Saloma Miller Furlong, Eythana Miller
10:15 am — Break
10:30 am — Student panel of ADSF scholarship recipients: Katie Fisher, MJ Kempf, Abigail Hochstetler, Brandon Wagler (moderated by Rose Fisher)
11:30 pm — Lunch
1:00 pm — Individual stories from Leon Hostetler, physicist, and Derek Miller, engineer
1:45 pm — Medical professional panel: Harley Yoder, Albert Miller, Laura Buress, moderated by Freeman Miller
3:00 pm — Break
3:30 pm — Individual stories from those in STEM and Industry: Harley Troyer, Michael Walker, Steve Yoder, moderated by Leon Hostetler
4:45 — Saloma and Eythana make closing remarks and ask everyone to fill out a survey
5:00 pm – Conference Ends: Optional dinner at Essenhaus for those who want to stay.
For photos and bios of the speakers and synopses of their talks, please click on the button below:
Want to help spread the word about the conference? Please share online as widely as you like. To help spread the word in your community, you can also download and print our conference poster by clicking the button below. We thank you kindly for your your help!
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Reflections of the Plain Roots Conference
Our Plain Roots conference in Middlebury, Indiana went well last week… so well! The stories…
Become a Mentor
Want to lend advice and support to a potential or current student? Apply to become an ADSF Mentor.
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Spread the Word
Want to help spread the word about ADSF? Please tell everyone you know about the scholarship. We thank you!