Creating Possibilities: Flipping My Plans at #ACPA12
Getting into the car in Buffalo, I was thinking about going to my first national conference as a grad student and who knows what I was getting myself into. Little did I know it would include singing 90s music for the 9 hour car ride, using massive amounts of social media, having a hotel room flooded, and meeting some of my "idols".
Reflecting back on the reason I was there, I went to some fantastic sessions during my time ranging from using social media to how to recruit male RAs (which is a bigger problem on all campuses than I thought it was). I even went to a session about technology is student affairs that was being presented by an alum of my program and went to another that was presented by students that had one of my favorite professors at her last institution...it was full of small world moments. I went into #ACPA12 not knowing what I was going to go to until the night before (thanks Guidebook app!). Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have such a hard time narrowing my choices down.
But I digress...to the story that the title refers to. I learned of this kind of super awesome thing called the Standing Committee for Graduate Students and New Professionals (SCGSNP) and went to an open meeting they were having where they talked about how to get involved with their committee. I sat there going back and forth in my brain wondering if this was something I could do...get involved on a larger scale in a committee for a national organization about a professional that has changed my life. After much internal deliberation, I applied. And who would have thought, I was chosen to be a coordinator! Now I get to work with the social media aspects of the committee! Dream come true, right?! Never did I think I'd be able to use my social media skills like this!
And I joined the Social Media Task Force...
And met some of my social media idols...or was in the same room and they didn't want to introduce themselves and be found out ::cough::cough::#sagradproblems::cough::cough::
But #ACPA12 flipped my plans from going just as a participant to being someone who can help form other people's experiences at conference and beyond within our committee. So perfect, right? (I knew I couldn't stay away for long haha)
I'm excited to see where this takes me and the OPPORTUNITIES (#oneword2012) that come along with this all!
#ACPA13 in Vegas...I'm ready for you!