Be Everything You Needed But Didn't Have Access To: NASPA Western Regional Conference 2023

First I’ll start off by saying I am blessed to even have been able to experience a conference in this way. I’ve been to WRC, and other conferences before but this one just hit different. The way I describe the feeling relates to my time in graduate school. I attended the WRC in Portland a few years ago and I was surrounded by people in my cohort, the cohort above me and other Cal State Fullerton alumni and staff. I really didn’t need to spend time meeting other people because I had my peers with me for almost every session and for each reception. I also had my entire trip practically paid for through my graduate assistantship so I wasn’t as concerned about making the most of the experience like I was this year. This year I had to use my professional development funds and my own money to have this experience. Also, I wasn’t surrounded by Cal State Fullerton people. I was joined by my friend and colleague Jemefer Angela Cruz and this was Jem’s first professional conference. Lastly, I was required to attend one regional conference and one annual conference for my grad program so going to the conference in Portland was more about checking off a requirement than it was to get the feel of WRC.

NASPA WRC 2023, as I stated above, was truly about professional development. My plan was to be intentional about learning as much as I could and attending sessions that spoke to me. I planned to speak to everyone I knew from previous grad assistantships, conferences, jobs, etc. I planned to attend the New Professionals Institute Pre-Conference and gain perspectives from other new professionals. I can say that because of this intentionality and the people I met there, this conference was the best one I’ve attended so far.?

Pre-Conference - New Professionals Institute

The New Professionals Institute was led by Portia Anderson and Rudy. Both of our leaders were excited to be able to pour into us and we were grateful to have them. The first day of the pre-conference was rough LMAO. I was exhausted. The Thursday before the conference started, I made my way to LA to see one of my favorite artists (Burna Boy) and drove back to San Diego the night before I flew out to LV for the conference. Yes, I know that’s a lot but I am still young and I am living my life. Anywho, when we arrived in Las Vegas we knew that it was going to be different from the regular Vegas trip. Our Lyft took us at least 20 minutes from the strip to a resort and to my surprise …. our room was ready. We grabbed food, napped a little bit and headed to the first day of the pre-conference. My energy was low because I left it all at the Burna Boy concert. Despite my exhaustion, I met some key people that I would spend time with throughout the conference and I learned some valuable things. Cara Campbell, MSW ??? , Whitney Hadiwono Ibarra, M.Ed. , Crystal, Jem and I spent most of that four hour session getting to know each other and what it was like being a new professional at our respective institutions. I was the only one who had been to the conference before so it was nice for me to see what they were experiencing as new professionals and new attendees.?

The second day was definitely more lively; for me anyway. I was energized and ready to take on the day. I was more focused and I definitely picked up some more gems to take home with me. We had more time to engage with each other at our tables and some opportunities to move around. Through this, I met MyShaundriss Watkins . She is another person that I would come to spend a lot of time with throughout the conference. She is one of those people where you meet them and their energy draws you in. My favorite thing that happened at the Institute was the deconstructed panel. The panel was about finding ways to get involved and engaged in professional associations. Halfway through the panel, the panelists were told to pick a table in the room and to sit at the table to provide more of an intimate conversation with us. We were joined by Lisha K. Maddox, Ed.D. and I will just say that Lisha brought so much to the conversation. We used every second of the rest of the designated panel time and I know I can speak for all of us when I say we wish we had more time. There is so much more I could say about the New Professionals Institute but I think I will just list out some of the things I learned during this two-day pre-conference.

• Those of us with a Masters degrees in Higher Education / Student Affairs have Masters degrees in interpersonal communication, people communication, student development, collaboration, inter-departmental communication and so much more. Our degrees are versatile and skill-heavy so transitioning to another functional area or out of higher education into another field is all about being able to express what those skills are and how we can apply them to wherever we want to transition to.
• Understand the magnitude of your achievements and know your worth.
• Create a professional development plan (this one blew me away).
• How do your life/personal goals coincide with your career goals?
• Peacocking - faking it until you make it; not the same as being performative.
• Digital business cards (blinq, hi hello)
• Creating a Community of Care means to show up in spaces that don’t fit your identity, to practice critical/transformative race love, and to question toxic cultural norms.

SA Speaks

I also did an SA Speaks for this conference. Last month, I presented for WRC Student Affairs Month and my session was called The Significance of Representation and Authenticity. That presentation was based on the idea I had for the SA Speaks I did at WRC 23. I basically spoke about my experience seeing Black professionals show up authentically and how that inspired me to do the same. If we’re being real, I don’t think I did the best I could have done. Everyone I spoke to said I did great and a few people said I inspired them to make some changes in the way they show up. I am grateful to have been able to pass that along to whoever needed to hear it.

My favorite SA Speaks was given by Parker Rugeley(-Valle), Ed.D. . I met Parker a few hours before the SA Speaks sessions were supposed to begin. Neither of us were able to practice our SA Speaks the day before so we were called to come practice together before the sessions started. Parker is a doctoral candidate at the University of the Pacific and he basically presented his research. He talked about the experiences Black women CSU doctoral candidates are having during the journey of getting their doctorate. He made sure that their voices were centered on stage but also in his research. He honored the Black women in his life by changing the names of his participants to those Black women such as his grandmother, his aunt, his sister, etc.?

Sitting there, I had tears in the wells of my eyes. I haven’t seen an ode to Black women like this in a while. He took so much care in the way he made sure to allow these women to be seen through their words and experiences. He talked about how his grandmother has impacted his life in such a way that he wanted to make sure to honor her too. That really touched me because my grandma was my favorite person. She passed 2 years ago this upcoming January and I am still trudging through grief about it. After his session, I had to tell Parker how much this touched me and the impact his research is going to have. I forreal sat at that table and cried real tears. Parker, if you are reading this, keep doing this work because it matters. BLACK WOMEN MATTER.

Conference Sessions

I wasn’t able to attend many conference sessions because I spent a lot of time in SA Speaks but I made sure to support my Fullerton folks when I could. The two sessions I want to mention are Invisible or Hypervisible? Supporting SWANA Students and Beyond the Rhetoric: Eradicating Opportunity and Equity Gaps for Black, Latinx, Asian Pacific Islander, and Native American Males. Invisible or Hypervisible? Supporting SWANA Students was led by my friend and colleague Gina Waneis, M.S. from grad school (MSHE Cal State Fullerton). Gina was the inaugural SWANA Retention Specialist at UC Santa Cruz and with this position came the opportunity to bring about some real change. I learned that Gina and other higher Ed professionals working with SWANA students developed SWANA Con. Gina best explains it on her LinkedIn post about it: “The Southwest Asian North African Student Conference, or SWANA Con, is a gathering that centers the experiences of Southwest Asian/Middle Eastern, and North African undergraduate students across California and the nation. The purpose of this conference is to connect students from across the SWANA diaspora to build leadership & academic skills and discuss unique challenges impacting their communities, while also finding ways to embrace and reinvent their cultural heritages.” This was my first time hearing about SWANA Con and I plan on promoting it every year it happens. Big ups to Gina and other professionals supporting SWANA students! The conference takes place in January and you can learn more about it by going to https://swanacon.ucr.edu/ .

The other session I wanted to talk about is Beyond the Rhetoric: Eradicating Opportunity and Equity Gaps for Black, Latinx, Asian Pacific Islander, and Native American Males. This was such a great session for me because I know males in higher education are a group that need more support but as a woman, I don’t have the lived experience to naturally know where to start. I wanted to attend this session to get some insight but also because Dr. Matthew Smith is also a MSHE alum. It’s funny because most of the session was run by Dr. William Franklin because Matthew had two of his presentations approved and had to leave our session to do his other presentation. Either way, I learned a lot. First, I want to say that William is an amazing presenter. I was so engaged throughout the entire session which says something. I came because I was interested in the topic but I was present because the person speaking captured my attention. Note to self, remember this for future presentations. Anyway, this topic was important because men of color need support in more than just one way. Here are some things I learned while being in that session:

• Starting sessions/presentations hearing from students. Hearing from students is key when trying to support students.
• Disaggregating the data is so significant. Lumping statistics together will make it seem like a group of people with a similar identity (males of color in higher ed) are doing well or meeting a set goal. When in reality, separating them into their own categories will show that individually they need more support and that will also show us what support they need because the data is clearer.
• “Vocation is the place where the world’s greatest need and a person’s greatest joy meet” - Frances Buechner?
• Disrupt institutional complacency!
• You treasure what you measure.
• Men of Color Action Network - https://www.menofcoloractionnetwork.org/
• A2MEND (African American Male Education Network and Development - https://a2mend.net/
• Be everything you needed but didn’t have access to. (This was the one!)

Conference Receptions

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas ….

JK! We had a time, okay? It was so nice to see folks that I talked to throughout the conference in one space. I attended the receptions for the Black Diaspora Knowledge Community, The New Professionals Institute and NASPA Region VI. The first half of the night was really fun. We had some good food and laughs. I am really grateful to have gotten to spend more time with other young Black professionals. I got to talk through my decision of going back for my doctorate and hear some insight about that. It was also nice to just be able to share about my experience and hear other peoples’ experiences. My salient identity is my Blackness so most spaces centered in Blackness is a space I feel comfortable in. Then other folks from the New Professionals Institute showed up and it was nice to hang out with them for a little bit. It all took place in the same location so I stayed there for at least 2 hours.

Then somehow I ended up in the Region V reception by accident. I didn’t realize this until a toast to the Director of Region V started up and I thought “hmm, I’m in the wrong room”. Shout out to Region V but California is in Region VI. So I made my way to that reception and had a fun time there as well. I met so many people from San Diego; we really could have had our own reception? LOL. We got to connect on how blessed we are to live in sunny San Diego and how we should stay connected beyond the conference. We talked about our current roles and what our futures could look like. It was really great to just be relaxed and not have to be “on”.?

Pillars of the Profession: Closing Ceremony

The closing ceremony was a panel featuring pillars of the profession; folks who have been in the game a while and have contributed immensely to the profession. Dr. Willie Banks, Dr. Evette Castillo Clark, Dr. Lori Ideta, Dr. Paul Bennion were the folks on the panel and Dr. Karnell McConnell-Black moderated the panel. Karnell was also the WRC 2023 conference chair. Shout out to everyone listed. I really enjoy hearing from folks who have held it down in higher ed for a while because they have so much to share and it’s up to us to listen. Once we comprehend what they share, it is also up to us to apply what we learned in the ways we see fit. Below is what I learned/some insight from the Pillars of the Profession Panel WRC 23:

• Is SA your passion? What does your future in the profession look like?
• The landscape of higher education is changing when someone cut from the cloth of student affairs is now a college president.
• Measuring yourself against others is from our colonized spirits and thoughts.
• It is an act of love to give honest feedback. Find people you trust to give you honest feedback.
• See leadership, uplift the talent.
• Find time to think and find time to thank.
• Treat folks with kindness, even when they aren't kind to you. When someone deserves it the least, they need it the most.
• When you are standing in your purpose, what are you willing to risk?

New Relationships/ Genuine Networking

The best thing that came out of this conference were the people I met and built relationships with. All of the new professionals I connected with, the alum I met from MSHE, seeing folks I used to work with at other institutions, professionals who hold positions in NASPA WRC, folks who work at other institutions at San Diego, etc. all made this conference for me. I am big on relationships; a true extrovert at heart. I was tired at the end of every conference day but I got up every morning ready to get back out there to see what was in store.?

I also want to talk about genuine networking. I think networking gets a bad wrap because it is believed to be something that exists when you need something or if you will ever need something from someone. For example, people say “network because you never know where your next job is going to come from”. Which is true but I think this sentiment needs to be reframed. You should be yourself and show up authentically because you never know where you will end up or who you will meet. That goes for anything in life, but especially for the important pillars/values in one's life (family, love, hobbies, profession, etc.). As an extension to this thought, get to know people you like and connect with them. Do this at your own pace and in spaces you feel comfortable in. This is what genuine networking means to me.

I believe we are drawn to people for a reason. I believe in energy and discernment. When I go into spaces designated for networking, I meet and engage with who is in the room but when I leave, I know who I am going to intentionally stay connected with. That could be based on a conversation we had, something we have in common, a value we share or because they were just a cool person. I don’t need to focus on what they can do for me or how we can work together in the future. All I need to know is how that person made me feel when I met them. I left this conference with a list of people I want to stay connected with because of how we connected. If God has something planned for us in the future, I’ll see it when I get there.?

Jem and I closed out the conference by enjoying a final gathering with MyShaundriss, Cara, and Rachel Freeman-Cohen, M.Ed. We got to talk about how much we enjoyed ourselves at the conference and what things were going to look like once we returned to our campuses. In that moment I felt calm and rejuvenated. Once we got back to San Diego, folks asked me how the conference was and I had nothing but good things to say; including "now I know why folks go to these conferences every year". I couldn't imagine what going to a conference would look like after grad school. If I'm being honest, I was nervous because I wasn't going to have to buffer I had when I went with Cohort 12. This conference completely changed how I view professional conferences and I am really looking forward to next years'.

Goals for the Next Western Regional Conference

• Present, present, present! I did an SA Speaks this year and I feel like I could have done better. Maybe next year I can try again. Also, I am hoping to do a reboot of a conference session I have done in the past. Besides the reboot, I have two conference session ideas that I think would relate well to what is happening in the profession regarding student development and professional development. We’ll see what I apply to do and what I get selected for.
• NASPA WRC will be in San Diego next year. Since that means I won’t have to fly anywhere or pay for accommodations, that’ll make it easier for me to be engaged with planning or volunteering.

If you’re still with me, thank you for reading. I needed a space to release all that I learned about myself and what this experience means to me and LinkedIn felt like the right place. To all the following @'s, you contributed to my experience as well and I thank you. Big ups to Andrew Mutsalklisana(he/him/el) , Jazmin "JD" Dantzler , Meri Beckham , Alina Coronado, M.Ed. , Tyler Lum , Benjamin Mendoza , Diane LeGree, Ph.D. , and plenty more. I look forward to seeing what’s in store for NASPA WRC 2024.