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2011 Meeting Guides

SMT Conference Guides Program - Minneapolis 2011 (past)

Whether you'll be attending for your first time, your fifth, or your thirtieth, please consider taking part in the conference guides program hosted by the SMT Professional Development Committee. We would like to extend a hearty welcome to newer SMT members or members attending a national meeting for the first time by pairing them with members of the society who know their way around the meeting. This helps to break some of the formal ice and to demystify the conference in both the social and professional realms. The conference guides program offers a simple and informal means for longer-term SMT members to welcome and connect with newer members while opening a door for additional social and professional interaction for less-experienced conference participants.

How might a conference guide assist a newer SMT member? It needn't be much different from what you would normally do unaccompanied at the conference. One or two get-togethers should be enough. Here a few of the many possibilities:

  • finding a session to attend together and debriefing afterwards;
  • getting together over coffee to answer questions about the structure of SMT, the purposes of the conference, and how these purposes are carried out in the various forums (paper sessions, panel sessions, meetings, job interviews, etc.);
  • attending the opening reception, the exhibit room, a concert, a meal, or another social event and making introductions;
  • just being a friendly and supportive contact throughout the meeting (and shortly before and after, if possible);

There will be a very brief meeting for introductions right after the afternoon sessions on Thursday, October 27.

The conference guides program is not intended to provide detailed career advice or academic mentorship.

Any attendees wishing to be paired with a guide and any SMT members wishing to serve as guides (please volunteer!) are invited to contact Akane Mori directly mori@hartford.edu by two weeks before the conference. If you have already indicated your interest through the SMT website or by checking the box on your registration form, it would be appreciated if you could confirm directly with Akane Mori as well. All involved should plan to meet on Thursday, October 27, from 5:00 to 5:30 pm. Thank you for your support of this program.