Meet Christy Smith! If you frequent this blog, you probably remember reading Christy’s blog on her experience at PLEN and her current intern experiences. Read below to hear about her time at the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL).
Describe yourself and why you wanted to attend the NCCWSL Conference:
I’m a senior, and I’m looking for a federal job. I was excited to attend the NCCWSL Conference for the career fair and the career related seminars. Since I’m doing an internship in DC this summer, it was very conveniently located.
Describe your favorite parts of the conference:
The career fair was fantastic. There were about two-dozen different employers, and a significant number were government agencies. I also enjoyed the seminar options. There was a large variety of different choices. Anything from campus leadership to workplace etiquette was available. Being able to tailor the conference to your own interests made it a lot more relevant and helpful.
Highlight a speaker or a conference event:
My favorite session was called “Your Guide to Gifting: Feedback Style,” and it was about ways that we give and receive feedback in professional contexts. The talk was given by Ms. Catherine Wemette, and she was absolutely wonderful. She gave us so many practical tips on navigating the workplace and interpersonal relationships. We talked about everything from man-splaining to annual performance reviews.
Detail what you learned that you hope to never forget:
I went to one seminar focused on awkward conversations. We were each asked to remember a professional conversation we had had that was particularly uncomfortable or awkward. We then got into groups and role played the conversations to give ourselves a second chance at them. The organizers were clear that the only way for us to improve our communication skills was to practice identifying what when wrong and improve it the next time. I hadn’t thought of communication that way before. Instead of learning from difficult conversations, I have a tendency to wallow in the misery of awkwardness. I hope I don’t forget the lesson I learned. Sometimes things don’t go as well as you’d hoped, and the best you can do is to learn from it and move on.
Why should other students attend a NCCWSL Conference:
NCCWSL is a great opportunity to meet people who are like you. It almost doesn’t matter what you are interested in – there will be someone at NCCWSL who shares your interest. If you want an introduction to feminism – they’ve got that. If you want to learn how to make the most out of your college experience – they’ve got that, too. If you want to learn how to distinguish yourself in your job interviews – you guessed it – they’ve got that, too. The graduate school and career fairs are huge, and for juniors and seniors, it’s worth going just for that. Don’t forget to bring resumes!
Does this sound like something you might be interested in? Tulane undergraduate students can apply to NCI for funding to attend conferences. Email Betsy Lopez at elopez@tulane.edu for more information.
Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.