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Vol.30 No.4, October 1998
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Vol.30 No.4, October 1998 |
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Once again it is time for the annual Student Volunteer (SV) reflections on the CHI conference. This year, we gathered perspectives from three people at various points in their Student Volunteer career. We begin with a new SV, Farouk Meijhi, who just graduated with his undergraduate degree in Kinesiology from University of Waterloo. Next, a veteran SV, Erika (Gernand) Orrick, who just completed her undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Texas A&M University, writes about how CHI has helped her. Finally, an SV that has been released to the professional world, David Crow, will be sharing his experience of "life after student volunteering". Each of these people come from different backgrounds but all share a love of CHI. These are their stories.
It did not really hit me that I was going to LA for CHI 98. For two weeks prior to April 17th I was frantically trying to finish my honors thesis, so I could finally graduate after 5 "fun" years of undergraduate work. I finished my thesis the night before my flight, at which point I had to scramble in order to get home and pack for the trip. It wasn't until I was relaxing in the plane waiting for take-off that I finally realized: I was leaving for LA, on a trip that could decide my future, and it was going to cost me close to $1000. As I sat there, flying over the U.S., getting closer to my final destination, I thought to myself: I really don't know what I am getting myself into at this conference. I had heard great things about the conference: how much fun it was, how many people I would meet, how I would see all the "big names" in HCI, and many other comments on the benefits of attending CHI. It was actually on the recommendation of a former SV, that I signed up to be a volunteer. However, I hadn't heard any of the disadvantages of attending (which I now realize was because there aren't many), and I only knew two other students who were going, and I had only met them a couple of weeks before. I kept trying to tell myself that many of the other SVs would be in the same boat as myself, so I shouldn't worry. However, when you are 2000 miles from your nearest friend and in unknown territory, it is not easy to convince yourself that everything will be all right. I was eventually able to convince myself that it would make the trip and conference much better if I just put my fears aside and got to know as many people as possible.
Once I had settled in my "hotel", I decided to go take a look at the convention center. I made my way to the Commons Area where a handful of SVs were hard at work stuffing conference bags. I figured this would be my first opportunity to meet some of the other students, so I joined in. Little did I know that we would be going around in circles for 90 minutes trying not to get paper cuts. At this point, I realized I was not alone in my insecurity. We were a quiet group for the first little while, but slowly people began to open up and introduce themselves. It was just a matter of breaking the ice, which fortunately, people took turns doing. In that first 90 minutes I met people from around the world: Sweden, Germany, Brazil, and the U.S. After slaving away at the bag stuffing, we were rewarded with dinner upstairs in the SV lounge. I did not realize at that point how much time I would be spending in this room. The SV lounge turned into the meeting room, our cafeteria, and our all around hang out place. It was here that we were able to have lunch with some of the big names in HCI, as well as the plenary speakers, and decide what our evening entertainment would be. This was one of the many things I enjoyed about the conference. I was able to meet so many students from around the world, all of whom were interested in HCI, be it from the psychology point of view, the computer science view, or any one of the other fields involved with HCI. I was able to find out about the different research being performed, what schools offered what programs, and what the schools were actually like from the student's point of view. However, our mingling was not restricted to just "shop" talk. We also managed to take a few excursions to various spots in and around LA. Even though students were interested in attending the various sessions and completing their SV hours, there were always people who wanted to go site seeing or sit around and have a drink or play cards.
One thing I was worried about before I left was the types of jobs I would get "stuck" doing in order to fulfill my 20 hours of SV work. I was expecting mindless jobs, and that I would miss the conference. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out the type of jobs we would have to do. The jobs I performed for my 20 hours included registration, helping in a tutorial, working in the conference office, and performing traffic duty. From all the jobs I had to perform, I figured traffic cop would be the most boring, but I ended up meeting many people as I directed people to the opening plenary. There were also many other jobs such as working in CHIKids, working quick response, helping with AV, computer support, helping with the various sessions, and information booths. As you can see, there were a variety of jobs so everyone was able to find jobs that interested them.
Before heading to CHI 98 someone had mentioned that there are usually between 2000 and 2500 attendees. This was a mind-boggling number, as the only conference I had helped out with before only had approximately 200 attendees. I was very impressed with the organization of the whole conference. To have such a large gathering go so smoothly is very impressive. I have to commend the conference office, and the Chairs of the various parts of the conference on a job well done. I also have to commend our SV Co-Chairs, Hans and Mike who did a wonderful job organizing the SVs and getting so many "perks" for us. You guys did a wonderful job considering the shortage of SVs. I would also like to thank the two of you and all of the SVs for making this conference so enjoyable for me.
After experiencing CHI 98, I plan to attend the conference again in 1999, hopefully as an SV again. For this people who haven't attended before, I strongly urge you to try and attend next year. It is a great experience; worth any cost you may have to put up. It is a great opportunity to meet professionals, professors, and students who work in the field of HCI. As an undergraduate, and someone who was looking to get an idea of what HCI was all about, I found it a great source of information. Masters and Ph.D. students would also find it rewarding as you would be able to discuss your research with other graduate students, find out their areas of study, and get some ideas for your own research from both academia and industry. Students looking for employment would have no problem finding interested parties. There were two bulletin boards overflowing with employment ads, and many large companies held wine and cheese parties for potential employees. Overall, CHI is a wonderful experience, and an opportunity not to be missed by anyone.
Job assignment at CHI 98
I have managed to miss the Student Volunteer orientation two years running now. In Atlanta, I volunteered to do registration the first day because I was new and was worried about getting hours (a worry that turned out to be unfounded). When I walked into the Los Angeles Conference Center this year, Marilyn (Salzman) looked at a notation by my name that said "registration." Realizing that I had spent a lot of time working registration at CHI 97, I was immediately sent downstairs to help out with registration again this year. Over half of my hours at both conferences have been spent behind the registration desk. I enjoy it there because it is a great place to put a name with a face. (All those names you have only read about before...)
Coming from an undergraduate institution with a small HCI program, I traveled to CHI 97 looking to see if HCI was "my" field of research. A week in Atlanta convinced me it was. As one of the few undergraduate SVs last year, I pestered all the graduate students around me to tell me about their programs. I found out that schools looked at HCI from different perspectives, I found out which schools focused on the angle I wanted to explore. Maybe even more importantly, I found a whole community of people who worked on "soft" or "fluffy" computing, as my friends call my research interests.
This year I came to CHI knowing where I was going to graduate school and what my initial research work would be. In my time spent as a SIGCHI Bulletin Student Editor, I have met several people, but I was ready to meet more. Working as a Student Volunteer, I had the opportunity to work several sessions lead by people I wanted to talk to, or about topics in which I was interested. This is especially good for people like me who are shy about just walking up and starting a conversation. Working a session gives you an opener, "hi, I am so-and-so and I will be working as your SV for this session". It's really easy to take it from there.
I have six years of graduate study ahead of me, so I have six more potential years as a Student Volunteer. I have already told various people that I will be at as many CHI conferences in that six years as possible. As I get further in my research, I hope some of my time at future conferences will be spent discussing a paper at a session. I will probably always come back to the Student Volunteer lounge, though, because that is where some of the most dedicated attendees are located. Student volunteering has helped make me comfortable in this research community I have joined. I have made valuable contacts and begun to join committees to serve SIGCHI in other capacities. I am very glad I got my start early, as I know where I am going and I know where to find support. I highly recommend being a Student Volunteer to any student, whether you are searching for your interests, looking to meet people, or just wanting an enjoyable, educational week.
The transition from attending CHI as an SV to attending CHI as a "regular" conference attendee was not as difficult or frightening as one might expect having read the Students Column in the October 1995 SIGCHI Bulletin. It did present a number of new experiences and changes in the CHI experience that included tutorials attendance costs; time to attend more technical sessions; and new networking opportunities.
As an SV you are encouraged to attend one full-day tutorial session free of charge, which is great: you receive the full course notes and can participate freely in almost any tutorial session (provided it is not full before you decide to sign up). But in returning to CHI as a "regular" attendee you find out that tutorial sessions cost money. They are an excellent opportunity to continue personal and professional growth, and they often let you interact with professors and practitioners in small group. But you soon come to realize that when you have to justify the costs (to yourself or to your management) you really need to select your tutorial carefully.
One of the more obvious changes in attending CHI as a regular attendee is the amount of free time you have on your hands. You no longer have to be present in the SV Lounge to make sure you meet the minimum number of volunteer hours, or to sign up for the events you would most like to work. This free time requires careful management to make sure that you can attend any of the papers, demonstrations, late-breaking, or special interest group sessions that may be scheduled at the same time. Many of the time slots often contain more than one session of interest and this requires efficient and effective time management to attend all that interest you. There are many other events and local sites that can take you away from the conference facility and continue to place an emphasis on time-management.
As an SV you meet a lot of people just because you are wearing that ever-noticeable SV T-shirt. As a "regular" attendee you must find new opportunities to network and meet people. This includes getting involved in some of the special interest groups, looking for old friends, and checking the message board. After attending a number of CHI conferences you find that most of CHI attendees are regular people just like you and are quite approachable. It is quite acceptable to approach a total stranger during a break session and politely introduce yourself. You may be pleasantly surprised that you have common interests. CHI is an excellent opportunity to meet people in the HCI field and even the most famous members of the CHI community are real people.
The transition from SV to "regular" attendee is not that difficult. The CHI conference is the same place as an SV and as regular attendee. It is a place to meet new friends, renew old acquaintances, and continue half-finished conversations. Not being an SV does not mean that you will miss out on anything that CHI has to offer. CHI is still the same place, and not being an SV doesn't change that.
David Crow is a Member of the Technical Staff at Rockwell Collins in Downers Grove, IL. He is currently working on the Army Research Laboratory's Advanced Displays and Interactive Displays Federated Lab developing advanced human-computer interfaces for the Army's digital battlefield effort. He can be reached at david.crow@acm.org
Farouk Meghji recently graduated from the University of Waterloo with his B.Sc. He is currently continuing his studies in HCI, while also working in the HCI & TeleLearning Lab at the University of Waterloo. Farouk can be reached at farouk.meghji@acm.org.
Erika Orrick is a first year Master's student in Cognitive Systems Engineering at The Ohio State University. Her research interests include data visualization and collaborative systems. She can be reached at orrick@acm.org.
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Vol.30 No.4, October 1998 |
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