By Kylie Jacobsen
If your university is anything like mine, by about this time in the semester students have already begun excitedly chatting about summer plans, when they can put down the textbooks and take up internships, more shifts at work, and warm vacations. STC student members are welcome to spend some of their summertime at Summit, the annual STC conference that is rich in professional development, networking opportunities, and fun social outings. Students can look forward to all that, plus free conference registration, in Atlanta!
Students sign up to serve STC during the Summit for several reasons, such as receiving complimentary registration fees, learning aspects of technical communication beyond their college classrooms, and building their professional networks.
Over a dozen university undergraduate and graduate students will be volunteering several hours during STC’s Summit this year. So, if you’ve ever considered joining us at Summit, or if you’re interested in welcoming future professional members into your chapters after spring graduation, here’s what to expect at Summit 2023.
Student volunteers will welcome all at registration
Several students will volunteer during the week to register and welcome Summit attendees at the registration counter. Beginning as early as 7 am, our student volunteers will be available at the registration counter to hand out registration materials to attendees and answer questions. Students will staff that table each day of the conference. They can be easily identified by their “Student volunteer” ribbon adhered to their name tags.
Student volunteers will attend several education sessions
An added benefit to volunteering as a student is the complimentary registration fee, which allows students to attend education sessions in between volunteer commitments. In fact, for many students, attending the education sessions will be their volunteer commitment. Approximately 10 minutes before each education session, a student volunteer will enter the room and check-in with the session presenter.
Presenters, as you settle into your room for your session, look toward the back of the room where a student volunteer will silently be counting the number of attendees in the room. Please direct any technical issues with the room equipment to the student volunteer – they can contact the Conference Committee or AV team quickly. Otherwise, students will introduce themselves, assist you with last-minute requests, and offer time-keeping services.
Seek out student volunteers at social events
Student volunteers will also be present at the awards ceremony, various leadership activities, and at the conference help desk. But I do not put them to work the entire time! Student volunteers are signing up to the Summit Slack channel, will be joining on dinner and social outings in Atlanta, and catching rides to and from the airports. Several students will be attending as sole representatives of their university or student chapter, so please invite a lone student out to eat or share a ride to a fun outing.
Are you a student?
Are you a student studying technical communication (or a related field) and would like to volunteer for free at Summit? Please visit our student volunteer page to read about the various responsibilities and perks of volunteering. I invite you to submit a form by April 14. After that, all the volunteers will meet for a virtual orientation in preparation for the Summit.
Register as a student volunteer
Be sure to visit our student volunteer page and register if you are interested in helping out.