My CEO Conference Experience
I recently attended the Collegiate Entrepreneurship Organization’s annual conference. Let me tell you those 3 days were a whirlwind, with networking, many speakers, and lots of learning. Tiring yes, but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
This year the conference was held in Tampa, Florida. Myself, another member, and our faculty advisor hopped on a plane and headed south, which was nice because we left Chicago at 41 degrees and touched down to 72 degrees and sunshine. So no complaints there!
Now the conference itself is hosted by the national organization and has many chapters (aka clubs) throughout the US and abroad. Right now, I am actually the president of DePaul’s chapter. Our club focuses on encouraging students at all stages of their entrepreneurial journey. The conference completely amplified this vision and brought together clubs from all across the world.
The insights from the conference were amazing. From hearing other schools’ representatives talk about their strategies in running their chapter to professionals describe running their own business, I learned so much, and my notebook was filled to the brim with notes. Additionally I got to meet people all the way from Cambodia to right here in Southern Illinois. It was cool to hear how they run their club and just how similar we do things, even if they are across the globe! The speakers all had different experiences too, from running their own businesses to being consultants. Each had their own insight into different aspects of entrepreneurship.
One definitely needs a plan of action at these conferences, from making sure you get people’s LinkedIn to taking notes that will actually be helpful. The biggest thing though is getting great practice interacting with different people. I do not know how many people I talked to, but it was a lot and each time I got more confident.
I highly suggest going to a conference in your field of interest. Now it doesn’t have to be as far as Tampa, because Chicago has some pretty awesome ones right here as well. Also attending a conference would not have been possible if it wasn’t for me joining a club, and then the leadership team. So if there’s one thing I definitely took away from this conference, it is to get involved!
~Sienna