Wait. Hold on. You missed the uOttawa #StartNow Conference? For real? Damn. I feel bad for ya! It’s okay though, here’s a recap of what it was all about, how it all went down, and what we thought!
The wonderful ladies here at the HerCampus uOttawa Chapter got the chance to go to NYC and attend the HerCampus National Conference. Before they even got back home from their amazing trip, these energetic women had already decided they wanted to plan their very own Conference back at the University of Ottawa. What an excellent decision, eh?
After tirelessly working for months on end (yeah, even throughout the summer months), the Events & Marketing Team had produced an extremely organized, well kept, detail oriented, and informative day. Aside from the free coffee and amazing lunch (thank you Tim Horton’s, Bridgehead and Kettleman’s!), the #StartNow Conference had so much more to offer!
The concept of the #StartNow Conference was to be able to sit in on sessions to learn all about aspects of your professional lives, STARTING NOW! Not when we graduate, but now! There were selected panelists who spoke to smaller groups, as well as two keynote speakers: networking and etiquette expert, Etiquette Julie (you can buy her book), and former communications director for Stephen Harper’s Conservative leadership campaign, Yaroslav Baran.
What the conference taught us was how to get our professional lives in order now. We got some solid advice from the pros because they themselves have been on the ropes for quite a while starting up their businesses, serving their community, looking after the environment, being involved in extra curriculars, leading the media, and so much more! Being able to have an interactive element with all presenters (keynote speakers and panelists alike) allowed for a friendly, non-intimidating session, as well as an intimate and personal question period. This was hands down our favourite part of the event!
Some of the Events & Marketing team took the time to share their thoughts with me, and the consensus was that this was a total success!
“I am delighted and honoured to say the first Her Campus uOttawa conference was a successful experience for not only my team, but the attendees, in addition to the professionals from Ottawa who served as guest speakers and volunteer panellists. The events and marketing team worked diligently around the clock for the last month to make this event memorable and hopefully a legacy for the years to come. I couldn’t be more proud of the team.” –Jessica Mastronardi
“Out of all the events that I’ve been a part of planning through HerCampus uOttawa, I’d have to say that this one defintely makes my list of favourites as it was an absolute blast to reach out to so many professionals in our community. I was blown away by the number of professionals who said “yes” to taking time out of their weekend to speak on the panels we organized! I can’t wait until our next conference!” –Zoë Crego
”I was able to connect and network with people working in the industry that I strive to work in. Not only did I have the chance to talk and learn more about what they do, and how they got where they are, but it was also an opportunity to develop useful connections for the future!” –Julien George
We would like to take a moment and send out a very special thank you to the Community Life Services of the University of Ottawa- especially Mr. Marc Duval- for such a generous and thoughtful donation. Without your help, support, and caring we would not have been able to hold such a special event. Thank you very much!
Photo Credits go to various Her Campus uOttawa members