Since last May, I have served as the Conference Coordinator. Being in this position was easily the best decision I made so far in college. Not only did I get to work alongside the best assistant coordinators, but I also created a broad network of people throughout the Mid-Atlantic district.
Although event planning is one of the most stressful jobs you can do, it was so fun and fast-paced. I’ve outlined five skills that I learned were most important to developing a conference like PRogress Through Tech:
1. Organization
There are so many moving parts such as the venue management, speaker lineup, registering and managing attendees, and more.
2. Email etiquette
You are the point of contact for the entire event, so anyone and everyone will email you about the events.
3. Eye for graphics
Although we had a committee creating graphics, you are in charge of editing and approving all graphics used for social media and promotions.
4. Leadership qualities
Even though this was my first real leadership experience, I had to make sure I was communicating with everyone clearly.
5. Time-management
Planning an event as big as this could be a job on its own. I found it hard to balance my schoolwork, jobs and planning the conference. For this semester, I tried to do most of my homework by Monday so I could focus primarily on the conference Tuesday through Thursday.
At the end of the day, our conference was ultimately canceled due to concerns regarding COVID-19. This decision was made for good reasons, but it was devastating to be unable to see all of our hard work come together. I cannot appreciate and thank everyone who played a part in this conference enough for everything they did.
To the next conference coordinator, enjoy each and every moment of planning, even if it isn’t fun at times. Here’s to making our next conference even bigger and better!
This blog post was written by Mackenzi Hockensmith, Conference Coordinator.