Truth moment: I’d never attended the NCAN conference in-person. I was nervous, stressed, but above all else, excited to see how our months of planning would manifest itself in a three-day event. It was a harried frenzy, but after a quick staff huddle
prior to the opening plenary, it was showtime.
Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Lisa Herring set the tone for conference with her incredible opening remarks. She welcomed us to the city of Atlanta with a call to join her,
Atlanta Public Schools (her scholars, as she so warmly calls her students), and one another to strive for excellence in the work that we do. Receiving Dr. Herring’s message with 1,200 of our members was electric.
During breaks between
workshops, plenaries, and roundtables, I hope you took a minute to visit our exhibitors in the Exhibit Hall while grabbing some coffee and a bite to eat. We had 20 exhibitors join us in Atlanta, including several first-time exhibitors like Uprooted
Academy, Loper, and Virtue Analytics.
And after a full day of programming, it was so good to bust a move with members and staff at our Opening Reception. Day one was a hit!
Day Two
Tuesday was by far the busiest day at conference (I made sure to wear flats, NOT heels. And those speedy elevators weren’t too shabby, either!). From 7:00am until 7:30pm, team NCAN was on the move. Two plenaries, concurrent workshops, and roundtables,
followed by two evening receptions and some informal networking sprinkled throughout.
At the Lightning Talks plenary session, NCAN Board President and Bottom Line CEO Steve Colón reminded us that we – the college access and success
field – ought to celebrate our support systems who hold us down while we do this hard work of showing up for our students. The families and partners who took on a little extra responsibility so that we could show up fully engaged in Atlanta deserve
our gratitude.
Despite the exhaustion I felt behind my eyes, Steve had a point. This was hard work, but it was meaningful work.
Day Three
When I woke up on September 14th, I was a
little sad that we had already reached the last day of conference.
But our student panelists at our closing plenary made sure to bring the house down. I wish I had been half as poised as our student panelists when I was in undergrad. It was so inspiring watching Morgan, Zenani, and Kaila: young, Black women sharing their lived experiences as college students accessing
financial aid. Undergraduate Carm would have appreciated them in my life! What a fitting way to close our 2022 conference.
An event this large has many moving parts – from curating workshops, launching registration, creating sponsor
packages, tracking shipments, stuffing tote bags, confirming menus, sending reception invitations – you name it, someone on NCAN’s staff was tasked with executing it. Having experienced a full conference cycle, I have a new appreciation for work it
takes!
We also took care to craft health and safety guidelines for COVID-19. We took extra precautions with a COVID-19 pre-check via CrowdPass, while also providing masks and COVID-19 tests to attendees. And for the first-time ever, NCAN provided
a prayer room and lactation room for attendees who needed those accommodations.
Despite being a little rusty on this whole in-person-conferencing-thing, I would say we did a pretty good job. We hope you’ll join NCAN in Dallas for
the 2023 conference!
Email to a Friend