AIA Mississippi Presentation Recap
A couple months ago, I was invited to speak at the AIA Mississippi convention about topics important to emerging professionals. A mentor had been asking for advice on what type of topics would be important or helpful for emerging professionals and after rattling off a few ideas, alongside the fact that I would soon be publishing a book about the ARE, the ask arrived. I was honored and grateful, as well as happy to help empower other young professionals, but if I’m being honest, I was also scared sh!tless. Outside of writing this blog for you 4 readers and the occasional intro at YAF events, I haven’t yet formally spoken publicly as a part of my career experience. There’s a reason I blog, tweet, share pictures, and take volunteer positions that put me in such a position….I prefer the editing ability of the backspace button and the ability to craft a thought before sending it out into the world. Crowds aren’t my thing…especially not speaking to them. So I took this as a major learning moment and accepted the invitation and started planning*.
*By started planning, I mean that I had 2 deadlines, a bridal shower, an award submission, and a party to all get done before I was to speak. When it came to planning the talk, I mined this blog (there are many positives of getting your thoughts down on “paper”, this is just one) and thought back to past YAF meetings and started mentally preparing an outline.
The session was well-attended for an 8am start time, a very specific demographic focus, and it being 4 hours long. Yeah…FOUR HOURS. When I take on a fear, I poke the bear multiple times, not just once. So I thought it would be worthwhile to recap the AIA Mississippi conference and my first presentation…
Hey #NewOrleans! It’s time to go wander and see you up close and personal. #ilookup
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Arrival
I got into New Orleans the night before the convention and spent the afternoon working on my presentation. I had been fortunate enough to visit NOLA twice during the year I lived in Mississippi, so I didn’t feel like I *needed* to go do the touristy things and see the sights. That night I met up with my mentors and some of their friends and had an authentic New Orleans experience when we were invited into the home of one of their clients for drinks. One of the friends is an interior designer who had been performing work on this historic home on Royal St…talk about a knockout. The home had previously been owned by Delta Burke and Gerald McRaney before it was sold to Gerald’s cousin, a prominent NOLA forecaster. It had the traditional feel of French Quarter homes and to watch John make drinks at the bar in the front living room while being able to look out the front windows to the hustle and vibrant life of the streets was fantastic. I listened as they talked about the architecture they saw on the tour that afternoon and then we went out for a wonderful dinner…and then I went back to my room to work on my presentation some more.
Day 1
I’ll admit, I was bad and skipped some of the initial presentations, opting instead to go to a local cafe and work more on my presentation. I was very close to having all of the wording ready, and had most of my slides prepared, but it needed some organizing. We took a tour to Eskew+Dumez+Ripple where I had a very helpful graduate architect (Thanks, Max!) lend a hand in some scanning/printing needs for a deadline back home. Work doesn’t stop just because you’re out of the office. That afternoon, there was a cocktail hour for the conference and I talked to some of the EPs and other architects about what brought them to the conference and what gets them inspired. We then went to dinner with some of the women who work for Mississippi Heritage Trust and had a wonderful time telling stories and laughing the night away. While New Orleans is exceptionally muggy this time of year, I’m always pleasantly surprised by how welcoming and courteous everyone is. As someone who gets grouchy when I get hot and uncomfortable, I can attest to the fact that “southern charm” is more than just a saying. I met people from all walks of life who lived into that sentiment and it makes my heart smile.
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Presentation Day
I learned a very important lesson in the wee hours of the morning of my presentation…don’t try a new food the night before. Already on edge with nerves, I was now also a little green around the gills and trying to finish prepping for my workshop. After some medicine and some Sprite kicked in, I’d like to think the presentation went well. There were a mix of ages and career stages in attendance and so I covered the gamut of information. While I would have loved to have seen more emerging professionals at the event, I’m happy to help even the small amount of those who were able to attend. We talked the process of school, importance of travel, using social media to your advantage, finding a mentor…and a job, the process of then being a mentor, and finally the path to licensure. There were breakouts around social media tools, tips on how to distinguish unique skills to find or offer help to peers, and goal-setting with actionable steps. And last but not least, we talked about the AREsketches, but more to that fact – the importance of just finding what works for you in the study process and GETTING THOSE TESTS DONE. We even did a breakout where the attendees sketched a snippet of material, texted me the sketch, and then others tried to guess what the sketch was trying to convey.
As a fun side note, I actually did my entire presentation from the FiftyThree Paper app on my iPad. I built the slides, imported images, and drew on the slides on the go. It has been a great tool not only for my sketches but also for outlining and presenting.
The afternoon was spent on the expo floor talking with people and finally relaxing. AIA Mississippi does this cool auction event where the product reps don’t pay a booth fee, but instead buy something to donate to the auction event. Attendees then get a “buck” as they talk to each rep, which they then use to bid on the items that afternoon – someone was giving away a drone! It was a great way to keep the reps and attendees engaged and made the expo floor very lively.
When you get a learning unit for learning about booze ?? #whatanarchitectdoes
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The evening event was a session on the history of the French Quarter from Antebellum times to now. Rich Campanella was/is a fantastic speaker and he made the history – and number crunching – very interesting. He wove in alcohol history, aided by the hotel mixologist then teaching us how to make the drinks of the time. It was a very creative session and definitely the best attended of all of them.
Walkabout and fly time
The last morning of the conference, I packed up my things and spent the morning walking around the quarter. I thankfully happened upon some jazz in the streets (it pairs well with Sunday brunch) and I called my trip complete. I was unfortunately starting to feel a little under the weather and so I just took it easy before heading to the airport. I was once again happily surprised with my New Orleans experience and grateful for the contacts I made while there.
Found my jazz ?❤️❤️❤️ #NewOrleans
A video posted by Lora Teagarden (@l2designllc) on
The takeaway
There were a handful of firm leaders in my workshop alongside the emerging professionals, so I spent some time in my presentation talking about firm culture. The one thing that I think all AIA conferences could do better at is young professional attendance. At some point we have to realize that these people will be the future of the profession whether current leadership is ready or not. We need to make sure that we’re training them well to take on those roles, and that training means more than just having your tail in a chair acting like a CAD monkey or BIM b!tch. It means building a culture in your firm where you provide access to leadership, are transparent about business processes, and value them above and beyond their ability to provide man hours to finish a project. While that helps the billable bottom line, it also doesn’t make for a well-rounded professional…which is what we need leading our workforce into the future. So if you’re reading this and you’re in firm leadership, think about what you do to grow your talent. How are you investing in them to help them, and in return your firm, grow and succeed? Is your door open for conversation? Do you budget for each employee to attend a conference or development event each year of their choosing? Rising tides raise all ships, so while it’s important for you as a leader to be at these events, it’s just as important that your junior employee is there alongside you. Invest in them. You won’t regret it.
