I know I’m a little late in my post but I’ve been catching up on my work so I don’t have much to do while I’m gone to this wonderful conference. Here are a few things I’m expecting at the Grace Hopper celebration as a newbie:
New knowledge
There is one thing I learned in a recent interview, I have a long way to go. I say this because even for what I know there are better out there. Sure I assume people that know every little thing have been spending every waking hour practicing but realistically I want to be that person. I’m hoping this conference can help point me in that direction.
Networking Opportunities
I’m going to this thing expecting to meet some amazing individuals. I’d love to meet people that could guide me in being where I want to be, drop some knowledge about my life „quest“, or just friends in general. I’m expecting to get a lot of emails, business cards, and phone numbers.
Notes and blog on things I missed in my schedule
As I have said previously I’m going to be live blogging at this conference. Well I’m one of many people in the world that will be blogging and taking notes whether it be on paper, internet, video, anything.
Companies I’ve never considered possible working at
Ok so it is a given that every conference has a career fair of some sort. The difference with this career fair is that this is the biggest venue I’ve ever seen (well on paper at this point). I could almost cry over the companies that are going to be there. It is like all the companies I’ve ever aspired to work for want me (ok not just me but you get it).
Swag
Swag makes the world go round. I have this thing with stickers. I use them to tell a story of what I have done and my poor little computer is getting full. I’m not sure what I’ll do when I it gets full but I want to continue the journey until I can’t put stickers on anything else.
Inspiration
Inspiration is a must. I’m not talking about only professional inspiration but maybe some fashion and lifestyle inspiration too. Everyone has their own style and way they operate. I plan on observing and learning.
Fun
No conference is complete without fun. I will be at the parties and networking events and all of that. But one thing you must always remember is that one must not forget they represent themselves and their brand at all times.
The best thing about this entire experience is that due to the internet I can relive anything I want in the weeks after the conference. I plan on taking a lot of picture for once so I hope to post spam Instagram timelines. If you want to attend the conference from your desk or classroom go ahead and follow on twitter, the notes page, and the blog feed.
P.S. This trip would not be possible if it were not for the National Science Foundation Award #1303441. Part of this grant was given to me by winning a poster competition at the Women in Cyber Security (WiCyS) conference.