Connect with others who want to make a difference.
By Dana Murn-Kohal
The "crashers" plus event organizers. Murn-Kohal is in the middle, with one foot on the ground.[/caption] Free registration to a great credit union industry event is a cool part about being a "crasher" through The Cooperative Trust. But it isn't the coolest part. Being one of nine crashers at the CU Water Cooler Symposium, which took place the second week of September in Austin, Texas, was unparalleled to anything I’ve taken part in before. With having a roommate and getting practically no sleep all part of the experience, crashing is most often undertaken by people under 35, though it's open to everyone. Here are three reasons to add “crash an event” to your professional bucket list.
1. The knowledge. The CU Water Cooler event structure lent itself to full knowledge immersion. Speakers' presentations were followed by a Q&A session, which allowed attendees to dive deeper and also synthesize what they were learning. Plus, crashers had an additional session with two speakers every day, so we got twice the knowledge!
2. The networking. There was a lot of hype about having crashers at the event, which made for an easy opening line for networking! We crashers forged a special bond that facilitated sharing our professional experiences with one another. It ended up being far more than simply networking--I walked away with some great friends!
3. The experience. Everyone experiences a conference high, but being a crasher took it to the next level. From getting a chance to explore a new city to staying in a hostel (yes, we did this), having a collective experience with others makes whichever event you crash (applications are now being taken for GAC 2015, Big. Bright. Minds. 2014, and CUNA Lending Council 2014) that much more memorable. If you are looking to connect with others who are energized about the credit union movement and want to make a difference, you need to crash!
Dana Murn-Kohal is CUES' professional development and innovation manager. Read previous posts from this blog about professional development.
