It is time for a business trip! This evening I arrived in Vancouver. No, not the major Canadian seaport but the southwest Washington city that is a stone’s throw from Portland. I am in this beautiful city for an internal conference. For the next couple days, I will join my fellow marketers and communicators from across the Washington State University system for team building, presentations, and discussions.

For the next couple of days, I will be connecting with my WSU communications and marketing colleagues at an internal conference on the WSU Vancouver campus (photo courtesy of WSU Photo Services)

Sometimes people don’t realize how big WSU is. Besides our flagship campus in Pullman (which I am headquartered), we also have physical campuses in Spokane, Tri-Cities, Everett, and Vancouver. Additionally, WSU is home to a thriving online campus. All these campuses have marketing and communication teams. On top of that, most of the academic colleges, student services, and other university departments boast marketing and communications teams too. This adds up to a lot of marketing and communication personnel that represent WSU. Every year or so, during normal times, we like to get together.

Because of the pandemic, this is my first WSU MarComm Conference. It will also mark the first time that I engage with many of my colleagues in-person after working with them for 2.5 years on a virtual basis. Other “firsts” include my first time ever on the WSU Vancouver campus and my first time ever on the WSU Tri-Cities campus—I caught the bus on the latter that took me to the former.

Perhaps the most significant “first” will be an in-person presentation to my WSU colleagues as a Coug staffer. The last time I presented in-person to a WSU audience was when I visited for my on-campus interview nearly three years ago. I am honored and a little nervous to have a speaking role at a conference with 75 of my co-workers. I am prepped to discuss how we are leveraging TikTok at WSU and anticipate a lot of interest. Wish me luck!

I feel grateful to be at this conference. Marketing and communications is definitely emphasized at WSU and it is cool to see all the people who play a role in it. I look forward to leaving Vancouver with more connections and a greater appreciation for the hard work that my colleagues put forth on a daily basis. Don’t Blink.