Greetings, all! I realize that this post is a bit delayed (the conference in question having ended two weeks ago), but I have been on a MARATHON catch up mission over the past two weeks, and so (unfortunately) have not had time to blog. (More on the catching-up thing later.)ANYWAY, I would still like to say what I have to say about my first professional conference… so away we go!
Two weeks ago today, I had just completed my first stint at a national profession-specific conference. Within higher education and student affairs, we have two main all-encompassing professional organizations, ACPA and NASPA. I’m a member of NASPA, which stands for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, and we just had our big annual conference in the grand city of Philadelphia, PA.
Let me tell you, it was a GREAT experience. As the title suggests, attending NASPA was my first professional conference experience, and I went in with a LOT of expectations and rumors as to what it would be like… many of which differed from what the conference was ACTUALLY like. So this post is going to be dedicated to breaking down my time at NASPA, and what it’s like to be a professional at a professional conference. (Who’s grown up now? ME! Kind of.)
EXPECTATIONS… and ANTICIPATION
Through the grad student grapevine in my program, I had heard many different stories concerning professional conferences—how they run, how to balance your time when attending, how to meet people, etc. My program hosted a small-scale ethics conference in February, and from that experience I had a few expectations as well. Going into NASPA, here’s what I expected:
-I was going to be tired by the end. Really tired.
-It was going to be REALLY easy to meet people; so easy that it would be strange if I left the conference without several new acquaintances.
-I needed to be on my A-game. Professionals would be everywhere… professionals who could eventually give me a job in a year. And they would be watching. So I needed to be dressed for success, on my best behavior, and generally prepped for some major networking opportunities.
-I wasn’t really sure how the session aspect of NASPA would go (you know, the presentations. The actual professional development part of the whole conference thing). I didn’t get a chance to attend a presentation during the conference my program hosted, so I wasn’t sure how many I wanted to attend per day, whether or not I would need to take notes, etc.
Most of all, I wasn’t sure what to expect for a conference in Philadelphia. I had never been to Philly before, and my friends with whom I attended the conference and I had set aside a day and a half to explore the city. I also knew that our hotel was directly across the street from the Convention Center. But how would the flow of the city interact with the conference? Where would we eat lunch and dinner? Would the Philadelphians be okay with 5,000 student affairs professionals invading their space? How would we navigate the city? Would we brave public transportation? And—perhaps most importantly—where could I find a good Philly cheesesteak?!?
THE REALITY, or HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE NASPA
The actual NASPA experience, as I’ve told you, was GREAT. Not only was I able to meet some amazing fellow student affairs professionals, I also got a great big healthy dose of professional development, which has recently been lacking in my life.
To answer your most burning question, YES, PHILADELPHIA WAS AWESOME. It’s an amazing city, full of history and interesting people and places and funky facts and some of the best food I’ve eaten in a while. As I said, we took a few days to explore the city before NASPA started so that we could concentrate on the conference when it actually began, and I fell in love with the City of Brotherly Love. Here were my very favorite things about Philly:
1. Reading Terminal Market—located right next to the Philadelphia Convention Center, this railroad terminal-turned-market has THE BEST FOOD EVER, all in one convenient location. I could have eaten at Reading for every meal and had different food every time I went. It was inexpensive, too! I can’t sing Reading’s praises enough… especially the fresh-made cinnamon rolls. TO. DIE. FOR.
2. HISTORY! Listen, this could be a post in itself, so I’ll just remind you of the most important thing: Philadelphia is the cradle of American society. The Declaration of Independence and Constitution were both created and signed there. It was the home of many Founding Fathers AND Mothers, including Betsy Ross, one of my favorite historic figures. If you go, you must see: The Liberty Bell. Independence Hall. Basically ALL of Old City. The MASONIC TEMPLE (Freemasons are awesome). City Hall (and get a local to tell you about the Curse of William Penn!). Philly is a city chock-full of history, and I consider the things I experienced there an essential part of my conference experience.
3. The tourist stuff: Now, I know that most city locals HATE tourists, but I make it a point to do the things that touring companies recommend. After all, the sites wouldn’t be famous if there wasn’t something interesting about them, right? So, of course, for Philadelphia the tourist destinations include a lot of the historic things I mentioned above. But it also includes things like:The Love Statue in JFK Plaza. The Avenue of the Americas. The Philadelphia Musem of Art, including THE ROCKY STATUE (the museum is where Rocky runs up the steps. Did I run the steps? You bet your boots). CHEESESTEAK*. Chinatown. And more.
*I did the Geno’s vs. Pat’s challenge. I preferred Geno’s, but the final decision was split. But here’s the kicker—apparently most Philly natives prefer a more hole-in-the-wall cheesesteak place, not these two famous joints. Definitely go to Pat’s and Geno’s for the experience—and make sure you order correctly—but then make sure to take time to listen to the locals’ advice on where to get the best cheesesteak.
All of this leads up to one of the major lessons I learned: Experience the city where the conference is held. For me, being in our host city was half the fun of the conference. Next year, I’ll make sure to set aside time to explore Phoenix (NASPA 2012!), because seeing our host city through the eyes of its inhabitants made my conference experience that much more meaningful.
The second NASPA lesson I learned is one that I hadn’t expected to learn, but that helped me retain my sanity up through the end of the six days when I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to board the plane back to Atlanta: everyone has a Conference Personality, and knowing your CP is the key to getting the most out of your conference experience.
You see, I figured out that those expectations I had going into NASPA were given to me by a wide variety of people—fellow grads and professionals, and a little from my own personal experience—and, as such, didn’t necessarily all apply to me. To use the slang, the most important thing I took away from my conference experience was to do me. (You know, “you just do you, and I’mma do me”? No? Okay. Now you know.) I had to live NASPA my own way, not the way of the people I was with… and I could still get as much (if not more) out of the conference by doing that.
In the end, my conference experience came down to KNOWING MYSELF, which is my first piece of advice for the first-time conference go-er. Know your limitations, know your excitements, and know what you want to get out of the conference. Participate, don’t anticipate. And most importantly, make sure that you are taking part in the whole reason why professional conferences exist: professional development.
Continuing to grow as a professional in my field, in any field, is ESSENTIAL—without taking time to grow, how can I help the students I work with to do the same? And what an opportunity to professionally develop, alongside 5,000 fellow student affairs enthusiasts, all of whom I can learn something new from!
NASPA 2011 was unforgettable, and I can’t wait to experience my next professional conference.
