IECA Seattle Conference

It’s ME with my very official IECA Conference lanyard.

What is IECA?

IECA stands for Independent Educational Consultants Association. They are a professional association for IECs providing support, education, and advocacy for members. Visit their website for more.

Professional Membership

As an IEC, I am a member of a few different groups. I am a HECA member. HECA stands for Higher Education Consultants Association. They provide many similar benefits to their membership.

I am also a member of SACC (Seattle Area College Consultants) and PNACAC (Pacific Northwest Association of College Admissions Counseling). These regional groups are great for finding local opportunities for students and connecting with colleges and consultants in your region.

When I became an IEC, I was only aware of these kinds of memberships because I saw them in the signature lines of other IECs. I dipped my toe in with the local associations but curiosity led me to apply to HECA. I had to prove my credentials by sending transcripts and providing professional references. Once I was a member, I immediately dove (more like cannon-balled) into their online resources. HECA has an incredible library of webinars

I’d heard of the conferences provided by membership organizations, but life and the world seemed against me. When I applied for membership, I was pregnant and finishing my time as a classroom teacher. Once I had my sweet daughter in my arms, the world shut down. I was able to attend a virtual conference during COVID. While the learning was amazing and the conference was really well put together given the fact that they had to conduct it virtually, I felt something missing…

I saw a few conferences come and go. Always wanting to attend, but unable to make it happen for one reason or another.

Then my family moved to a fairly remote island and I had a son. Life just keeps coming at you, doesn’t it?

Finally, IECA announced they would host their Spring conference in Seattle. MY REGION!?!? I had to go. I was not an IECA member, but I decided to sign up anyways. I booked the ferry. I called grandma and told her she was on-deck for what my daughter calls “Grandma Camp.”

Seattle Conference

We disembarked from the ferry, drove to Grandma and Grandpa’s house and Mama was READY for some ME TIME! Now maybe professional development is not your idea of a good time, but it was a kid-in-a-candy-store moment for me. I had all my limbs to myself. I was only responsible for me and I got to sit in rooms with brilliant people for three days straight. #blessed

The conference itself was at the Hyatt Regency in Seattle. It was a lovely hotel, right in the middle of downtown with wonderful space for large gatherings, college fairs, breakout sessions, and of course some tasty food and beverages (and SO MUCH coffee).

I have to say I am a little sad about the state of downtown Seattle at the moment. I remember working at the 5th Avenue Theatre many years ago and just loving the hustle and bustle, and the lovely restaurants and shops. It is not that place right now. I hope it can recover from the many setbacks it has faced in recent years.

I digress…

The conference itself is 3 days of impossible choices. There are about a million sessions offered and they all sound so interesting. I wish I had a time-turner. I’ll talk more about a few of those sessions in a moment.

There are also pre and post conference college tours. There was one in Seattle, one in Oregon and one in Canada. I wish I could have gone on all of those as well, but “Grandma Camp” doesn’t last forever. I constantly remind myself that these first few years with my kids will fly by. I’m soaking in every wonderful and exhausting second, AND I’m super excited for the future when I can travel outside my region for a conference AND attend those pre and post conference tours. They looked amazing.

Key Take-Aways

Networking is VITAL when you are an Island.

Not only do I live on an island, I also AM an island. Some IECs work in teams or partnerships, but many are completely independent.

I am a solopreneur.

I do all of it by myself.

It can feel very isolating.

When I tell you that this conference felt like an awakening, I mean, I cannot begin to tell you how FANTASTIC it felt to be talking to professionals who have so many of the same interests, who are passionate about helping students and families, and who have such interesting and specific knowledge. I am feeling a wave of inspiration just recalling how it felt to be in those rooms and conversations.

Work/Life Balance

Does anyone have this?

Is this a thing that exists?

Bueller?

In the month of May (Mental Health Awareness Month), it was only fitting to have some sessions focusing on ways to improve overall mental well-being. I attended a wonderful session on this and walked away with new ideas about how to strike a balance. I mention this session because I want to make a commitment to myself to do better.

Brooke Daly and Lindsey Ringenbach from Advantage College Planning put together a list of habits to form in order to start finding your way towards a better work/life balance. These include accepting the season you are in, starting with your WHY, collecting data (which feels like more work, but helps expose what you are really spending your time doing), setting boundaries, creating strong relationships with colleagues, prioritizing self-care and wellness, and celebrating success. There were a few more and there were a lot of tools and techniques offered, but I’m not going to go into too much detail here.

I’m happy to share more if you are interested because I think these habits and tools are going to SO beneficial to my mental health and productivity this year. I also think they are important habits to talk about with students and I’m excited to incorporate what I learn about myself into the conversations I have with kids.

AI in College Admissions

AI and ChatGPT were the buzz-words. I couldn’t have a conversation with someone without the topics coming up. It’s not for nothing, of course. Advances in AI are going to make (are making) a huge impact on our world. In college admissions, many are specifically concerned about ChatGPT’s ability to write college essays. My main take aways from conversations and presentations were that colleges are not ready to officially release statements about this yet, AND it is going to be an amazing tool.

Several presenters brought up that there has been similar uproar with major inventions throughout history; the camera, the telephone, the calculator, etc. These were all feared before they were understood and eventually became a part of our everyday lives.

AI WILL change things. Colleges are already re-writing their student ethics policies to include Chat GPT. Some college admissions teams are talking about asking students HOW they use AI in school or even how they used AI to help write their college essays. Better to gain insight into their ability to prompt-engineer than to pretend like they aren’t using it.

AI can be a tool for outlining and brainstorming, but all the experts stressed that we (and students) have not had access to AI for long enough to know how to use it in such a way that it could ever replace our individual perspectives, experience, insight, etc.

IE. IT IS STILL NOT HUMAN, SO WRITE YOUR OWN ESSAY BECAUSE IT WILL BE INFINITELY BETTER THAN WHAT CHAT-GPT CAN WRITE FOR YOU.

In conclusion...

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In conclusion... |

It’s getting late and my child is probably going to wake me up before the sun rises tomorrow, so I’ll wrap this up.
I am so glad I attended IECA’s Seattle Conference. I’ve already applied to IECA as an associate member and can’t wait to see how their resources help me become a better IEC for the students and families I work with. I look forward to conferences in the future, but until then, you can look forward to hearing about everything I am learning here, on the blog!