Last week, I traveled to Arlington (the Washington, DC area) with a colleague to attend my first Consortium on Graduate Communication Summer Institute. The CGC is a relatively new professional association that brings together people working in all areas of graduate communication: writing, writing centers, international teaching assistants, etc. I joined the association last year, but wasn't able to attend the summer institute. Several of my colleagues went, though, and I heard such great things that I wanted to be sure I made it this year. Plus, with the recent changes we've made to our graduate support policies and classes, this seemed like a really important time for me, as program director, to get more plugged in to this community and see how what we're doing compares to what others are doing.
The conference was from Thursday morning to Saturday mid-day, and there were about 130 participants. There were 3 keynotes, plus a variety of other sessions, including my favorite type: works in progress. These were designed to be discussion and feedback oriented, so you bring your idea, project, etc., talk about it for 10 minutes, then have 20-30 minutes for discussion. Fernanda and I gave one of these presentations about our curriculum changes and the writing class she's teaching a new version of in the fall. It was so helpful! In all of these sessions, I was so impressed by how collegial and supportive the group was. It felt like everyone was willing to be vulnerable; no one was pretending to have all the answers--we could all admit our challenges and really learn from each other, sharing what's worked, what hasn't, what ideas we plan to try next. The conference also provided breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon coffee break each day, which was not only convenient and cost-effective, but gave us a chance to sit and chat with each other informally. It was also really fun to be at a smaller conference like this with some big-name people in the field (including Nigel Caplan, who moderated the works-in-progress session that we presented in!). The whole atmosphere of the event made everyone approachable, which was such a benefit for me.
Overall, I'm so glad we went, and I hope to be able to go again next year (though the dates/location are TBD still...). We got really helpful feedback on our session, plus I have fresh ideas for the new grad class I'm teaching in the fall, and some things to consider as I keep working on our offerings at the program level.
Besides all the professional development, I was glad that Fernanda and I had the chance to explore the National Mall after we arrived on Wednesday. I also got to reconnect with Ashley, a friend from Tucson, who now lives in the area (we had dinner, but I totally forgot to take a picture!). After a taste of what DC has to offer, I really hope Mark and I will get a chance to go back together sometime soon.
Here are some pics:
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| Washington Monument |
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| Washington Monument w/Fernanda |
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Washington Monument
(from the opposite side) |
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| World War II Memorial fountain |
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| one of the details at the World War II Memorial |
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| World War II Memorial fountain up close |
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| walking toward the Lincoln Memorial |
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| looking back at the Washington Memorial |
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| Lincoln Memorial |
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Lincoln Statue
(it's so much bigger than it looks!) |
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This one of me with the Lincoln statue
gives a better sense of the scale! |
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| Korean War Memorial |
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Martin Luther King Memorial
(this one was my favorite) |
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| From the MLK Memorial, a view across the water to the Jefferson Memorial |
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| Eisenhower Executive Office Building |
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| The White House |
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The FDIC (this one was in Arlington,
between our hotel and the George Mason campus) |
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Me, at George Mason,
at the end of the day we presented. |
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