STUDENT’S VOICE Finding Your Audience
Kristina Pourtabib, SA-3410
pour1824@vandals.uidaho.edu
A general rule for anyone deciding to pursue a higher education is to attend conferences and conventions whenever possible. These types of showcases not only make it possible for you to share your work with a diverse audience, but they allow you to see the newest tech- niques and advancements in your field of study. There are only positive experi- ences to be had from conferences, it is a place where you can showcase your research, make connections with new people, and set up potential employment opportunities.
As an undergraduate in the geological sciences, attending annual conferences like the Geological Society of America were strongly encouraged, but few stu- dents from my university ever ended up going. I remember both GSA conferences I attended during my undergrad con- sisted of only one other student, one or two professors and myself. Even though I wasn’t traveling with a large group, I still got a lot out of each conference. The first year I attended GSA (my junior year of undergrad), I was blown away at the size of the conference and at how much diversity there was in the research being presented. Honestly, I was a bit overwhelmed at first, but sitting in on different talks and poster sessions gave me a good idea of the type of work that I was interested in pursuing. I was able to also visit graduate school booths and talk with various professors and students in order to get a better prospective on the whole graduate school experience. The second year that I attended GSA (my senior year of undergrad), I was fortu- nate enough to be able to present some research that I was working on in the form of a poster. Although I was nervous, I was able to get a lot of positive feedback about my research and gain practice with presenting to an audience. During my second year of GSA I was also able to further strengthen the communica- tion that I had developed with potential
graduate school professors as well as showcase my research abilities to them. Large conferences like GSA can be very beneficial all around to anyone looking for feedback and a fresh perspective on their research.
Aside from the many great aspects of attending conferences like GSA, there are also some downsides to attending conferences that students should be aware of. First of all, it is important to attend conferences that are relevant to your research interests. For instance, you wouldn’t want to attend a small conference that contained only one or two other talks that were related to your research topic. When your research subject comprises a small percentage of the topics at a conference you have to be aware of that fact that you are probably not going to receive much, if any relevant feedback on your research. A large part of attending conferences is to make connec- tions with people that have interesting ideas or shared experiences that can help further your own research, and when that aspect is lacking at a particular conference then your overall conference experience can become diminished. One of the biggest take away messages that I have learned from attending a variety of conferences is to know your audience, and give yourself realistic outlooks on what type of feedback and expectations you are looking to get out of the experi- ence. Also, it is important to be able to modify your presentation to suit the gen- eral understanding of your audience. For instance, if a conference is not specific to your research topic then make your pre- sentation easy to understand, and vice versa if your speaking to an audience of experts in your research area. Overall, attending conferences is a vital part of achieving success as a student. The true test of whether or not you understand your own research is to try and convey it in a way that any audience (regardless of geologic expertise) can understand.
**Attention Students** Are you going to grad school? Have you graduated?
Please notify AIPG Headquarters so we can keep your contact informa- tion updated.
aipg@aipg.org
Your section needs to start a Student Chapter Today. Contact Vickie Hill at AIPG Headquarters for more details.
vlh@aipg.org
AIPG Executive Director Position Announcement
The American Institute of Professional Geologists is accepting applications for the position of Executive Director. The position is to be filled as soon as a qualified candidate is vet- ted. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Details can be found at
www.aipg.org/ ExecDirPosition.pdf
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