Navigating #NASPA15 with Courage

Navigating #NASPA15 with Courage: Region IV-E NPGS KC Reflections

I was one out of 8,000 attendees attending the largest NASPA Annual Conference ever in New Orleans. Even though it was the largest, I felt at home with the people that I connected and reconnected with at the conference. The theme “Navigating with Courage” was the focus for me throughout the conference and encouraged me to have a great experience. With the theme in mind, I selected my first Pre-Conference option which was the Campus Tour.

If you are not familiar with this option, NASPA Annual Conference features a campus tour with the surrounding institutions in the city of where the conference is held at. This year, I was able to view four diverse institutions in the New Orleans Area. The institutions were Delgado Community College, Dillard University, Tulane University, and Loyola University. At each institution, they guided us on a tour of their campus, provided narratives of how Hurricane Katrina has impacted their institution and how the institutions are doing currently. I learned a lot on the campus tour and would suggest for you to sign up for one in the future. It was a great learning experience for me.

Another opportunity that I participated in was the Candid Conversations program at the conference. I chose to participate in this program with the theme in mind. I thought it was beneficial for me to meet with a seasoned professional that could provide me some insights on the field especially as an Asian Pacific Islander woman. I got matched with Sandy Chan, Assistant Dean of Residence Life in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. As the conference began, I was eager and a bit nervous to meet Sandy. Once we met up, we had a really great conversation. We both shared our journey within student affairs and bonded over our love and hate relationship with Fitbit. Currently, we are doing challenges with one another to help boost our Fitbit game!

Throughout the conference, I attended sessions, went to knowledge communities’ events and meetings and reconnected with various student affairs professionals. I was also able to experience New Orleans, from participating in Campus Tours to eating daily at Café Du Monde. Those beignets were really great! Throughout my experience at#NASPA15, I always had the conference theme in mind, “Navigating with Courage”. I would recommend all members to attend the Annual Conference and get to enjoy the opportunities that NASPA provides.

About the Author: Natasia Bongcas is a Resident Director at University of Illinois at Chicago. Natasia is an avid watcher of Law & Order: SVU and has a love/hate relationship with Fitbit. Natasia is a member of the NPGS KC within Region IV-East, where she is an active volunteer by writing blogs for their membership and attending KC events. If you wish to share your love with FitBit or Law & Order: SVU; follow Natasia on twitter @natasiabongcas or email her at [email protected].

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