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A student’s first ASIS&T Annual Meeting

This post is by Brian Dobreski, a student at Syracuse University and a volunteer at #ASIST2016.

The 2016 ASIS&T Annual Meeting was one of many firsts. My first ASIS&T conference. My first time in Denmark. And of course, the first time the Annual Meeting was held in Europe.

Serving as a student volunteer was a great way to experience the conference, and afforded me the opportunity for some other “firsts” as well. Assisting with sessions gave me a chance to sit in on presentations on telepresence and information poverty, offering a first exposure to some topics outside of my area, but interesting and important nonetheless. I still had plenty of time to attend additional sessions of my own choosing too, and got to hear more about data curation and serendipity in information seeking.

While this was not my first networking experience at a conference, it was certainly a productive one. I was able to meet many scholars and researchers in the information field, and spend some time with my fellow doctoral students from other institutions who will be my future colleagues. The New Members/First Conference Lunch stands out in particular: lunch with Michael Buckland was a real treat!

And of course, this was my first exposure to SIG CON. If you don’t know what this is, you have to see it. That’s all I’ll say.

Volunteering at the Annual Meeting was a wonderful opportunity to get exposed to a variety of interesting research, learn more about the field, and network with other ASIS&T members. It was a great experience, and I hope to attend again next year!