MY 2016 BUCKET LIST
by Becky Raines
I have been incredibly lucky to attend the USITT National Conference three times in my college career, and I cannot thank NBS enough for those opportunities.
One of the special experiences of USITT is the ability to meet and talk with so many different generations of technicians and designers with so many different areas of expertise. I feel very privileged to have had really helpful conversations with young career sound designers, the vendors of my favorite equipment, and the session presenters. The great thing about going to USITT as a senior is that everyone wants to help you, and this is more possible since you might not be returning to school in the fall.
On that note, I wanted to share my USITT 2016 Bucket List, born out of three years of attending USITT as an undergrad:
- Swag: No USITT is complete without your Syracuse curtain bag. (Pro tip, though: get in line early for a snazzy Bellatex shirt.)
- Learn more about an exciting technology at the Stage Expo. I had a 45 minute conversation about audio visualization technology and live motion tracking and it was certainly a highlight of the conference.
- Go to awesome sessions (my favorite are the really specific ones—the sound plot drafting session was perfect this year).
- Talk to the presenters at these awesome sessions. Find them on the Stage Expo floor or in the conference hallways. Thank them for an excellent session and tell them what you liked. This can lead to great conversations and potentially lasting connections!
- Spend time in the Light and Sound Labs. You’ll learn a lot about others’ artistic processes just by sitting and observing.
- Meet the other students there—even for introverts, it can be really rewarding to strike up a conversation at a session then go out for coffee or lunch.
- It’s simple, it’s standard, everyone will tell you to do it: get your resume and portfolio reviewed.
I returned from USITT this year feeling so grateful for the people I met, the advice I received, and the amazing generosity of the USITT community. I cannot recommend the national conference enough. [ ]
Becky Raines received The SECOA Student Scholarship to support attendance at the National Conference.