A First-Timer's Summit: Are There Fire Breathers and Sword Fights at the Summit?

Danielle Villegas, also known as TechCommGeekMom, is attending the STC Summit for the first time this year, so we’ve asked her to blog about her expectations and excitement approaching the Summit, plus her experiences at the Summit. This is the second post of her series.

I will admit, I haven't been to a big conference in a while. The last big one I attended was almost a decade ago. I was a stay-at-home mom running one of those home-based businesses (think Tupperware or Pampered Chef-type businesses) selling The Body Shop products. I earned enough from my business to pay for a long weekend in California—my first (and only) time there. It was great to get away from motherhood for a few days, and I had the thrill of meeting the late Dame Anita Roddick two years before she passed away. There were many people from all over the world, so much to learn, and a great deal of imagination and inspiration going around! But in comparison to the STC Summit, I imagine that this was small.

At this point, I don't know what to expect at the STC Summit. I know it's the biggest STC event of the year. I know from seeing photos posted on STC's Facebook page that there are awards, lots of food, and great talks. That's all well and good. One can't go wrong with those things, as that's what conferences should be all about. However, I've heard from a few Summit veterans that it's a lot of fun and I will have the time of my life. That's sounds great, but that doesn't tell me very much. This has set my expectations very high as a result. Does this mean there will be fire breathers and sword fights? Will Oprah be there to give us all new cars and trips to somewhere fabulous? Will there be a Ferris wheel in the lobby? Will NeNe Leakes of the Real Housewives of Atlanta take us scuba diving in the hotel pool?

Alas, my expectations might be a little too high if I'm expecting such wild things to be happening! But what I do expect is that I will come back with a multitude of networking connections, many new friends, and a great experience in which I will be diving more deeply into the technical communication field than I have before. It reflects back to my last post. I suspect that I will be initiated into the tribe of technical communicators during this conference. I hope to come back with new knowledge from my peers as well as new inspiration of what it means to be a technical communicator.

Danielle M. Villegas writes the blog TechCommGeekMom.com. She is graduated with her MSPTC degree from NJIT in 2012, and is currently a Web publishing consultant for BASF North America.

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