Professional development

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am shy around people I don't know – get to know me, I talk your head off, but I am an introvert. This is especially true when I go to conferences. I've had to make a conscious effort to talk to different people and not simply go to the presentations and then disappear into my room. Each time it has gotten a little bit easier. I like to think that as I've forced myself to step out of my comfort zone I've expanded the reaches of my comfort zone. I'll never be a natural public speaker, but I've come a long way and now actually ENJOY getting to talk to people who do similar work at different institutions and have to grapple with some of the same issues. Getting to know these people also gives me resources to bounce ideas or ask questions of since they are familiar with the work that I do, and in some cases have already done something similar to what I may be working on and have a question about.

This year, I decided to take a bigger step by getting involved with putting on the 2010 conference! I think it will be a good opportunity to get to know the people better and also to give back to an organization that has helped me so much in my 8 years (have I really been working 8 years?)

I drove to Waco this afternoon for our planning meeting tomorrow. So now I'm in my hotel room, because I'm tired from a day of work and driving from Houston-Waco.