Buthow I gotthereallstartedbackin 2016 when I wasonmysecondyearonmyuniversity, mybachelorsaidisatthattimeinMarch, a friendofminecalledmeandtoldmethatintwomonthsinMayofthetime a conferenceisgoingtohappen, a conferencewhichiscoldallScottopenSo's ConferenceSylvania.
Andthey'relookingforvolunteers.
Mostofthevolunteers, usuallyourstudents, andthenaskedher, Whyshould I gothere?
Whyshould I spendmyweekendhelpingyouknow, a conference?
I hadneverbeentoone.
That's true.
Ah, so I followedheradvise.
I attendedtheconference.
I staytherefortwodays.
I met a lotofpeoplefromdifferentcountrieswhoknew a lotofselfdifferentkindofstuff, and I realizedthattechissodiverseonitshomenotonlythepeoplebutconsisted, butalso, um, tryingtofindwhatyoulikethemost.
Forexample, therearepeoplethat I codingotherthatlikesystemadministration, designandevenpeoplewhoarelikemoreintothethismarketingpart.
They'remorepeople's person.
I amnot.
I hatepublicspeaking.
Asyoucansee, thatis a pictureofthatday.
I amsomewhereinthemiddle, threeyearsnowbackto 2019 and I havelearned a lotfromthiscommunitybecauselateron, ofcourse, I joinedthemand I keptorganizingsmallereventsotherthanjustaanannualconference.
Onalsoresharewhatyouknowhersharingyourstorylikethesesessionsresharingyourknowledgeandyourexperienceiswhatwillmakepeoplelikemeofthetimebein a stagelikethis a fewyearslaterandyouconcealthat.
Butmany, manywaysawaythat I chosetoresharewhat I knewwasinJanuarywhen I foundoutaboutthisconferenceis, umbefore I apply, I shareditwithmycommunity.
Wehaven't onlineformandthescoresforhim.
And I saidthatHey, guys, I can I sawonTwitterthatthisconferenceisairhappening.
Um, theyhavesomescholarshipstoo.
Goodformy I am a sculler.
Thisyear, I sharethelengths.
Unfortunately, the C F P wasclosedatthattime.
So I justhurriedforpeoplewhojustwantedtocomeasguestsonattemptedconferences.
Sonotonlymeals.
Anothergirl's appliedfortheconference.
And I wasmymywayofsayingthankyoutothispeopleforeverythingthatyou'vedoneformeandprobablygivebacksomethingtothemthatisallforme.