Lessons From 2022: Speaking, Community, and Hope in a Post-COVID World

Well, it’s January of 2023, which means it’s time to finally release my retrospective for 2022.

TL;DR Summary

2022 marks a time of coming out of the 2-year+ COVID pandemic, with mask mandates in many counties in my state of Colorado ending earlier this year.

2022 was a year of highs: connecting with our communities in-person again through speaking at conferences, and some lows: loss of a new job and loss of a beloved family member. But there’s also reason for hope in the new year. So, let’s do it ….. time for me to go over the lessons I’ve learned from 2022: Speaking, Community, and Hope in a Post-COVID World

Lessons from 2020: Seizing Opportunities in a Difficult Year

2020 has been a difficult year for many people. So, why would I write an article about seizing opportunities when right now there are fewer of them to go around? And the problem is exacerbated for folks who belong to one or more marginalized groups. Is it wrong to even be talking about this?

Well, that depends. For me, I’m defining opportunities as:
Being able to help / give back to others if you are in a position to do so. And, when life changes on you, adapt to new opportunities as they arise. The following are some lessons to help you take advantage of opportunities in the new year!

Why Volunteer at Conferences? My Experience at 360iDev

360iDev is an iOS Developer conference that takes place in Denver, CO every August. I’ve been fortunate to attend 360iDev several different ways over the years, including as a speaker in 2018. But this is the first time I’ve attended as a volunteer, and discovered that it comes with benefits you don’t get from just being a regular attendee. Let me share with you what those benefits were, along with some pro tips, and maybe you’ll decide to volunteer at your next tech conference!

10 Takeaways From Attending My First Write/Speak/Code Conference

Write/Speak/Code is a hands-on conference for technologists of marginalized genders to advance their careers through technical writing, conference speaking, and open source coding.

This past August, I attended my first Write/Speak/Code conference, in San Francisco.

Below are my takeways from W/S/C, including what I got out of attending the conference and some tips / advice for first time attendees for next year. 🙂

What WWDC 2018 Taught Me (About Choosing and Attending Conferences)

This year was the first time I attended Apple’s WWDC conference. It took 3 years of trying, but I finally got the golden ticket to attend this year, and was fortunate enough to have an employer to sponsor my trip as well!

This is the largest iOS conference in the world, and it’s the dream of many iOS developers to eventually attend a WWDC at some point in their careers. Given what a big deal WWDC is, was it worth it? More importantly, if you work for a company that will sponsor only one conference for you in a year, should WWDC be THE one? Or if WWDC is not in the cards this year, how do you select a conference to attend, and what’s the best way to get the most out of it? Come with me as I share my journey, and see!