By Christina Carte, International, and Content & Curriculum Specialist.
I wasn’t supposed to be in Portland this year. It was a happy accident that I was included on the list of staff to assist in executing AACRAO’s 107th Annual Meeting, but before I knew it, I was purchasing my flight from IAD to PDX.
It was a door I didn’t expect to open, but I am so glad I chose to walk through it. It set the tone for my first professional conference experience: If the door is open, walk through it with confidence. It was the first of many to open, ultimately
maturing my idea of the “Meeting” concept.
My name is Christina Carte, and I currently serve as a Specialist in the areas of International and Content & Curriculum at AACRAO. I am 24 years old, early into my career, and I’d love to share some key takeaways from my first conference experience,
all centered around the power of "Meeting," including:
- Meeting Self
- Meeting Others
- Meeting Ideas
I hope that this reflection reaches young professionals, like myself, who need a nudge of encouragement to walk through doors, even (or especially) if they open by accident.
Meeting Self
It feels corny to start here, but perhaps this was one of the most important takeaways: meeting myself. This was the first door I needed to walk through before walking through any of the others.
It can be really difficult to walk into any space with confidence and presence, but something that really helped me in the most timely of ways was the #IAmRemarkable workshop I attended as a part of the AACRAO Women’s Caucus, hosted by former women's caucus chair, Laura Remillard. This workshop took place a couple of weeks before our conference. In short, its purpose was to encourage individuals, particularly those belonging
to marginalized groups, to recognize and celebrate their accomplishments. As Laura explained, celebrating yourself is a muscle that deserves more flexing, but it can be difficult to start if you haven’t used it in a while. In our workshop, we
were challenged first to write what made us remarkable and then share it aloud with our small group. I was in a group with several awesome women, including AACRAO board member Connie Shipman Newsome,
and we all agreed that this was a difficult practice. Connie mentioned something notable that resonated with me. She stated, "I am remarkable because I am great at meeting people where they are." It stuck out because I thought, "how can
I meet others where they are if I haven’t done that for myself first."
Meeting Others
It’s insane to think that more than 1,000 people were there in person at our conference! It was a true privilege to meet face-to-face the people I communicate through email with daily, including some of my own colleagues. It was also an honor to
meet folks I’d never met before, learning more about their work and how AACRAO has impacted them or, on the flip side, how they’ve impacted AACRAO!
And while it’s so easy to want to center conversations around our work and perhaps our titles, I found great power in asking "How are you doing?" vs. "What do you do?" Of course, I was interested in learning about peoples’
roles, but I was more interested in their experiences. When starting a conversation this way, I found that it opened a door, creating a new avenue on which to connect.
I felt like it took the pressure off by approaching folks this way. It figuratively put everyone on the same “playing field.” Admittedly, I was nervous about meeting certain people, such as AACRAO Board President Tiffany Robinson, Janie Barnett (retired AACRAO Associate Executive Director), and Rick Torres (President & CEO, National Student Clearinghouse). Still, approaching them and so many others professionally but personally reminded me that everyone is human, regardless of title or accomplishments, and we could begin our conversation there. How’s your day? How’s your conference experience been?
This was how I started some of the most remarkable, friendly, and eye-opening conversations I was able to share with attendees and colleagues alike. In that way, we could walk through new doors together.
Meeting Ideas
In addition to meeting people face-to-face, it was incredible to meet their ideas and watch so much of the work we do from our computers come to life, from presentations to roundtables to after-session discussions over drinks. I knew that AACRAO carried
weight behind its name, but wow - I was truly blown away by the wealth of knowledge and solutions that AACRAO brings together under a single community.
I could go on and on about the sessions I attended, but I’ll keep it short by summarizing my takeaway on ideas with a question that one of our attendees asked at the International Luncheon. After the presenters shared separate updates on their associations/organizations'
work - offering great insight into solutions they had come up with - someone commented, "these were all really great points; how do we begin to connect the dots?." And I really liked how my colleague
Annetta Stroud responded. She stated
that it was meetings like these where conversations could start and forums beyond where conversations could continue.
It was a stark reminder that, as complicated and challenging as our work can be, there is a community with existing ideas and solutions eager and prepared to assist and that this conference was only the beginning of some really important conversations.
Final Remarks
Our 107th AACRAO Annual Meeting, in my eyes, was a great success and truly lived up to its name, providing me the opportunity to meet myself, others, and ideas in ways I hadn’t done in a while or ever before. This was a single door that opened so
many others for me, and for that, I am extremely grateful.
Concluding, I would like to thank my colleagues - with special thanks to Julia Funaki, Drew Carlisle, Dr. Tina DeNeen, Becky Fowkes, Latoya Swan, Melanie Gottlieb, Orlando Mayorga, Alex Lojko, and Mariana Patterson - for giving me the opportunity, encouragement,
and support. Thank you also to the countless individuals I had the honor of meeting for the first time in Portland. I look forward to meeting you all again soon.
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