By Janell Kennedy, STC Member and IDL SIG Secretary
A New Member’s Perspective on the 2024 STC Summit
There are many out there who have been to professional conferences before, including many past STC Summits, so they have a vast basis of comparison. I had none. I had never been to a professional conference of any kind, so I really didn’t know what to expect coming to the 2024 STC Summits. Honestly, I think I always talked myself out of anything like that, especially since it was likely I would have to shell out from my own pocket. And I was a little nervous about traveling alone. But for this year’s Summit I decided I would push away all those excuses and take the plunge. I was so glad I did.
Informative Sessions
My intentions for coming were two-fold: acquiring knowledge through attending sessions and networking. Despite my husband telling me professional conferences are only really useful for networking, I found great value in every session I attended. Even sessions I only caught the tail end of were incredibly informative and I was glad I snuck in. Multiple sessions I would have liked to attend overlapped each other, so I appreciated the staggered timing so I could attend one I really wanted to go to and when that got out, I was sometimes able to sneak into the other session to absorb another speaker’s gems. It also gave attendees the ability to choose longer or shorter sessions according to their preferences.
I was thrilled to take the CPTC Foundation Pre Course for free because I was attending the Summit. That was a HUGE value add, and I would love to see that come back again next year. I had to miss some sessions I would have really liked to attend, but the cost savings of the course was well worth it. The absence of a keynote speaker this year was not missed by many past attendees, and while I’ve never really experienced a keynote speaker, I did not miss it either. Not having one allowed more time to network and plan which sessions would be most valuable to attend and network with other members.
It was also very refreshing to see so many session topics related to technical communication. There were familiar topics but I also had the ability to attend sessions on concepts that were less familiar. Attending just a few sessions made it clear that I knew much less about the technical communication field than I realized, which allowed me to hone in on the topics where I could gain more knowledge. After all, I was there to absorb as much information as possible in that short weekend, and identifying my knowledge gaps was just as valuable.
Valuable Networking
I have always been scared of networking. No one could really describe to my introverted self how to do it in a way that made sense and didn’t sound intimidating. After the 2024 Summit, I realized I was just overthinking it. All you do is start talking to people and the “networking fruits” will come. I was able to converse with so many different people in different roles and learn a lot about what’s out there. Talking to people also helped me realize how little I really knew about the technical writing/communication industry. But again, you can’t improve when you don’t know where the gaps and shortcomings are.
Those with whom I conversed were also very open to connecting on Linked In and sharing their contact information. I have always been hesitant to ask for that or reach out because I felt like I was being intrusive or too forward. Networking is made so easy with the STC community because everyone is interested in not only progressing their own knowledge and careers, but also the careers and skills of others. It really is a community that cares about the health of the Society and the betterment of the members. I certainly feel blessed to be a part of a community that feels like a professional family.
Leadership Access
I attended the CAC Leadership Collaboration session because I thought it could help me understand how to become more involved in STC. I definitely got what I was looking for. During a discussion session with current and past leaders, I started asking questions and sharing my insights as a new member, and before I knew it I was talking to board leadership and the executive director about my ideas and impressions. I was so encouraged to see that STC leadership on nearly every level was willing and interested in hearing feedback from new members in the interests of continued improvement and elevating the value of STC membership. Everyone was so welcoming, and my excitement about becoming more involved rose as I was introduced to more STC leaders who were genuine about receiving member feedback. There is just something about being physically present with members and leadership to make your membership commitment feel concrete. It was definitely one of the most valuable things I took from the conference.
Balanced Location and Accommodations
I was incredibly impressed with the choice of location. First of all, the location of the Summit venue 10 minutes from the airport was a huge plus. And because the hotel had a shuttle service to and from the airport, I did not have to worry about spending extra money on renting a car. Since I was paying my own way, any convenience that saved me money was a value-add. While I spent most of my time at the hotel getting the most out of the Summit, I did appreciate that the leadership chose a hotel literally attached to the Mall of America in case anyone wanted to take a break and do something fun. It also opened up meal choices for anyone who wanted something specific.
The Radisson Blu hotel rooms were the perfect balance of quality and reasonable cost. Being in an unfamiliar place, I did not want to stay somewhere else just to save money and then have to plan extra travel time just to get to the venue each morning. There were less expensive options surrounding the Mall of America, but even though I was willing to pay the extra for the convenience of staying onsite, I appreciated the very reasonable rate STC was able to get at the Radisson Blu. Everyone at the hotel was incredibly accommodating and helpful, and I would champion STC choosing it again for a future Summit. I would also encourage other members to spend a little extra (if possible) to stay onsite because of convenience, constant proximity to other members for enhanced networking opportunities, and better bulk rates.
Having the meeting rooms so close together made it so easy to quickly move from one session to the other, even if it was in another room block from the first session’s meeting room. I also really enjoyed the layout of this hotel’s meeting rooms. The Skybridge between meeting room blocks was great because you passed through the registration area with poster boards and small tables for networking between sessions. You also passed through the vendor area, so it felt like you were getting saturated with value every time you stepped into a room. There was always someone to talk to if you didn’t have a session to go to, and everything was conveniently located.
The hotel-provided food was very good; everyone seemed to enjoy it, and I viewed it as a value add because buying food outside of my Summit fee was not necessary and it was one less thing I had to spend money on or track for expense reporting. I would have liked to have seen a more accurate description of the amount of food that would be provided so that mall restaurants expecting large dine-around parties didn’t lose business. Many reservations started as double-digit numbers and then only a handful showed up because the hotel “hors d’oeuvres” were actually more like a meal. While the dine-around events were good, I enjoyed being able to take a plate of the quality hotel food into the meeting rooms with other conference attendees so networking could naturally continue during breaks throughout the weekend.
Overall Impression
Being an introvert, you’d think I’d be so peopled out by the end of the weekend that I was glad to get home, but I found myself sitting on the plane already looking forward to next year. The biggest value I took was just being in person with the STC community. When I signed up in December 2023, it just felt like a payment and a website. I didn’t have a tangible connection with anyone, but when you’re there in person you almost can’t help but connect. The feeling of community was immediately elevated and it’s easier to feel that sense of community in virtual meet-ups throughout the year when you’ve already had the in person interaction at the Summit. I would HIGHLY encourage any new members to attend next year’s Summit. Even if you have to save up some of your own money because your company won’t pay (that is what I did this year), it is so worth the human connection that will help you stay excited and connected until the next year when you’ll have familiar faces to greet.