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What led you to apply for the chapter’s SMPS MVRC Scholarship? What were you hoping to gain from the SMPS MVRC and the sessions? Had you attended the conference before?

I applied for the SMPS Missouri Valley Regional Conference (MVRC) Scholarship because, by trade, I am a geologist and diving in the Business Development field, I have so much to learn! I don’t think that my mineralogy, sedimentology and petrology classes ever taught me how to sell services, create the perfect social media post, or market an engineering firm. This was my first ever conference so I was planning on just being a sponge and taking it all in to learn as much as I can at MVRC. The only problem I ran into was deciding which talks to attend because there were so many exciting sessions available!

Exciting to be attending an in-person conference! What do you feel you gained from the sessions? What was the most memorable session you attended?

I took a ton of notes and have a lot of things to look into that I can implement at Geotechnology and my own business development strategy. There are also things I would like to adjust and change about my personal life on giving back, taking time out of the day to just breath and be thankful. I can’t just pick one that was the most memorable because I attended all the talks I could and they were all great in different ways!

The opening keynote talk from CJ McClanahan, who is a life coach, was very inspiring. His concept of 5 ideas to obtain joy and success which include: building meaningful relationships, getting comfortable in your own skin, living in the moment, living gratefully and giving generously was one of my favorite parts. Another moment that hit close to home was from Donna Corlew on, “A Farm Kid’s Journey to A/E/C Marketer.” She talked about growing up on a farm and being a part of 4-H, like myself, and how things in the A/E/C world are comparable to the lessons learned when she was a kid on a dairy farm.

What do you find to be the most rewarding part of being at an in-person conference when everything has been virtual for the last couple years now?

I think the biggest perk of the in-person conference was that I felt more focused and engaged. When I am at home on a zoom call my mind seems to wander and get distracted more easily. The networking and actually getting to meet and talk to people face to face is what makes going to a conference worth it! Don’t get me wrong, during the pandemic the Zoom meetings and meet and greets were a key tool in networking and starting out in a new field but in person is by far superior. You feel more connected and get to pop-in conversations you would not get the opportunity to join via zoom.

If someone is considering applying for the SMPS conference scholarship, was it an easy process? What would you tell other SMPS members who are also considering applying but have yet to ‘pull the trigger’?

Applying for the scholarship was a pretty simple process and didn’t take long to complete. Applying involved answering some general information about yourself, getting a letter from your boss/manager in support of you attending and then answering 3 questions. The questions are about your current involvement with the organization, what you hope to learn from attending the conference and how SMPS has impacted you personally and professionally.

If someone were considering attending MVRC in two years, what advice would you offer them?

Do it! The next conference is going to be in Omaha, NE in 2024, but it’s never too early to start planning. You will learn so much from the sessions and workshops available. Regardless if you are in the business development, marketing and leadership, MVRC is leading conversations that are helpful for all disciplines. There are a ton of amazing people within SMPS not only in the St. Louis Chapter but ALL of the different chapters throughout the Midwest. I would also say, if you are planning on attending, try and go a day earlier or stay a day later so you can take in the city. I wish I would have done that for Wichita and stayed longer in the city because the conference, afternoon activities, and dinners seem to fill up the day so quickly.

Would you attend MVRC again? What’s next? Will you attend Amplify this summer in Atlanta? If so, why?

Yes, I am already planning on looking into attending the next MVRC conference in 2024 in Omaha. I am excited to continue attending all the SMPS events going on in the St. Louis chapter because I always learn something new and I truly enjoy the people and connections made through SMPS. When I am traveling for work, I plan to look into the other Missouri Valley Chapter locations to see if they have any events going on so I can visit some of my new SMPS friends.

Sadly, I am unable to attend the Amplify conference coming up in Atlanta this summer but I am going to look into it for other years. After talking with some other individuals who are attending, they say it is very educational and offers similar activities, workshops, and fun events to MVRC.