The Line Up of Presenters at the NASPA National Conference Could Include YOU

The NASPA Annual Conference provides both a professional development experience and an opportunity to connect with other student affairs professionals in a myriad of ways that support our work.  Each year, I look forward to re-connecting with colleagues and friends who I don’t get to see on a regular basis.  I also look forward to making new connections based on shared interests.  One great way of making new connections is to present at the conference.

As a conference presenter, you have the advantage of drawing people into a conversation about a topic that is of particular interest to you.  By presenting on your work, you not only showcase what you are doing; you have people who share your interests coming into a space to listen to your work and to engage around a shared experience.  It’s not uncommon that you would make a particular connection to one or more people who attend you session and open the door to a continued relationship and, perhaps, a future collaborative effort.  It’s an opportunity to highlight and share your work (i.e., increase your professional profile) AND make some new connections.  In sum, it is a win-win experience. 

I encourage everyone reading this blog to seriously consider submitting a proposal to present at NASPA’s 2025 Annual Conference (March 15-19, New Orleans, LA).  As the Co-Chair of the Student Affairs Partnering with Academic Affairs Knowledge Community, I would love to see a number of programs highlighting ways in which NASPA members successfully connect with our Academic Affairs colleagues, whether it be co-created initiatives or a relationship that transcends organizational silos and, in the process, enhances opportunities for student success.  If this work resonates with you, think about submitting a program in support of this work and the SAPAA KC. 

Program proposals are due on September 4.  Although that may seem a comfortable distance in the future, remember that September 4^th often means move-ins, a campus full of extremely energetic students, and the start of classes (thus, a very busy, non-summer calendar). As such, now is the time to start your proposal.  Here are a few tips to guide you through this process:

1. Identify a topic:  you may have a presentation idea that immediately comes to mind.  If so, that is great. You can skip this section and move on to #2.  If not, here are some strategies for generating ideas. Start by reviewing your activities of the past year, including programs and initiatives, collaborative efforts, research. 

• What are you doing exceptionally well and what is contributing to the success of that work? 
• What are you doing that is innovative?
• Is there an experience you have had that creates a learning/take away message for others? 
• Is there something you are doing that would lend itself to a presentation with others, whether at your institution or at other institutions?
• Is there something you are involved in which would be a great topic for a panel presentation?

 

   2. Go to NASPA’s Call-For-Programs page (https://conference.naspa.org/program/call-for-programs ) and review information
       about how to submit a program.

• Go to NASPA’s Call-For-Programs page (https://conference.naspa.org/program/call-for-programs ) and review information about how to submit a program.
• Consider the various session formats and identify the format that works best for your program.
• Be sure to follow instructions and address every specific requirement.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback – ask a supervisor or colleague for feedback on your proposal.
• Submit by deadline – the site will likely close down at the deadline, making late submission impossible.

 

If you’ve made it this far in this blog, then you are likely considering submitting a program proposal for NASPA 2025 (or, you are seriously using this as a way of avoiding doing some type of negative task!).  Just do it – you’ve got nothing to lose and quite a bit to gain. 

Want to talk about this?  Check out the SAPAA LinkedIn page and comment on this post: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sapaa-kc/