On the heels of Brian Lindgren’s guest blog post last week, Anna Lerew-Phillips echos his sentiment about the Summit feeling like home in her guest blog post talking about her time in Phoenix.
Arriving in Phoenix as a student volunteer for the second time was less intimidating than my first go in Atlanta. For one, I knew what to expect. STC members embrace students, welcoming us into the fold. People are actually excited and thankful we are here. They want to share their wealth of information with us. They want us to succeed. Also, I meet other students from around the country, establishing long-lasting relationships among future colleagues early on in our budding careers. The Summit is an amazing gathering of people who take care of one another and the people that will follow in their footsteps.
STC demonstrates their commitment to students through many avenues, one of which is the Academic SIG. The Academic SIG provides opportunities for students to share their research interests and to develop as technical communicators. The student poster competition, for example, highlights some of the best qualities of the Academic SIG: opportunity, honest feedback, constructive criticism, student development, motivation, and encouragement. My desire to submit my research and present at the student poster competition stems from STC’s positive influence. As a graduate student, I am pulled in many directions and often feel discouraged given the demands and time constraints of balancing work, school, and family, but my STC family, the mentors who have helped shape and educate me, guide me through the difficult times when my confidence wanes, gently nudging me to pursue goals I believe are out of reach.
My STC family puts me back together when I fail and rejoices when I succeed. STC feels like home.