That's 6 days, in case you were wondering!
Well, I'm officially in Winston-Salem, friends! Today is my first day at North Carolina School of the Arts, where the President of HECMA works. Laurel and I are already sorting through lots of logistics and finishing up last minute details. I'll write a little bit more below about what my week looks like, but first here's a picture of Wake's campus, my new backyard! I moved in this past weekend, on campus at Wake Forest University.
Wake Forest & North Carolina School of the Arts
One of the best parts about this internship being new is there is a lot of room for developing and shaping the experience for my professional development. Since the internship experience was created to be supervised by the President of HEMCA, I decided to pursue moving to Winston-Salem, NC for the summer. Laurel Banks (current HECMA President) works at North Carolina School fo the Arts, a prestigious performing arts institution, in the heart of WS. During my search for housing, I was connected with Wake Forest, who was able to find me on campus housing as well as a part-time internship (practicum like experience), where I will be working with their CARE team. So in addition to working for HECMA and attending the HECMA conference, I will gain a vastly different experience through my time at Wake.
At Wake, in addition to traditional residence halls, they have on-campus houses where student groups can live. This summer, I'm sharing this house with two ACUHO-I interns. Wake's campus is absolutely gorgeous, and there are lots of little areas nearby to explore.
Conference Preparation
It's crazy to think that in a week, we will be at the 11th Annual HECMA conference in Cleveland, OH! This week, we have a couple conference calls to confirm a few last minute details. I've spent a lot of time over the past few days (and weeks) on the Whova application, which is a phone app attendees can use to access conference information, including sessions (think Guidebook). I'm excited about the impact this app will have on the attendee's experience as they will be able to connect with each other in real time during the conference. In addition to this preparation, we are finishing up the online and printed programs, in case there are attendees who prefer this form of conference information. Tomorrow, we will confirm all exhibitor and sponsor logistics, which is vital to the success of the conference. Laurel and I also plan to create an agenda for the annual leadership team meeting, which will occur the Tuesday before the conference begins. This will be an all day meeting, as we will be transitioning three new leadership team members into their roles! Other than that, we are just putting on final touches and crossing our fingers we haven't forgotten anything! I'm excited for my first HECMA & I'll make sure to share updates from Cleveland!