Phoenix Wrap-Up

This weekend was very interesting. I experienced a new place, and new people, great food, good conversation, and differing opinions. Though Phoenix was full of great buildings with stories to tell, the city itself felt very deserted. I expected that it would be a little more bustling, especially since it's the home of ASU. But whenever we'd go out on the streets, it would be fairly empty. In Salt Lake, there are people and cars moving from place to place. Buses and TRAX are transporting people, and everyone is going somewhere. In Phoenix, I didn't even see many cars unless I was on one of the streets farther from my hotel.

NCHC was a great experience, I learned new things, and had great conversations with my peers. Our session on newsletters went really well, and I feel that it was helpful for colleges looking to improve their newsletter program or to start a newsletter. I felt really good knowing that things I had to say could help these programs communicate more effectively to their audiences of students, faculty, alumni, donors, and college/university leadership.

Phoenix was not what I was expecting. It was much more quiet, and afforded much more personal time than I had anticipated. Sessions I attended were well done, but that is not the case for many of the sessions attended by my peers - some were awkward and poorly done, while others were very thought-provoking and had us talking for hours afterward.

Moral of the story: Phoenix is bad, NCHC is good. :)