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I have worked within Education for 13 years. I have been a ‘School Secretary \/ Desktop Publisher’ (yes, one title!), an ‘Event Administrator’, and a ‘Communications Coordinator’ with an increasing side of ‘all things Marketing’. In every iteration, my work has been conducted as a ‘team-of-one’; my non-teaching colleagues each wearing a distinctly different hat.<\/p>\n
It was this sense of operating within one\u2019s own ecosystem that motivated my request to attend the Ignite International Conference. I\u2019ve been a member of Educate Plus for two years and following my participation in 2021\u2019s Advancement Practitioner Training, knew that this conference would provide an unparalleled opportunity to explore best practice and build networks within my field.<\/p>\n
The first keynote set the tone; the personable Sir Ian Taylor\u2019s energised presentation reminding us of the magic that can happen if we love our work and meet challenges head on. Andrew Gossen\u2019s recount, of how Cornell University transitioned its Alumni publications from print to digital during the height of COVID, reflected challenges I could directly relate to. Today, I can\u2019t accept an AirDrop of candid pics from a teacher, without imparting some of Jason van Genderen\u2019s tips on how to (better) use a smartphone camera. My reports are flavoured with Cameron Pegg\u2019s tips on data-driven storytelling. Future initiatives, whether a new array of graduate gifts, a virtual tour, or data management system, may be directly driven by the options uncovered within the Conference\u2019s Marketplace (which was also the place to be for free coffee and office swag). And my forays into Marketing Strategy and Social Media management are emboldened by the knowledge and assurances imparted by the likes of Mel Deacon, Natalie Khoo and Claire O\u2019Connell. I could go on: each session I attended had some measure of value and relevance to my work.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, I learned that whilst my tertiary degree in Communications instilled me with the foundation to navigate my way in my current career, it takes regular, industry-specific insight to put that knowledge into context and keep up to date with best practice. Returning to my workplace, I no longer felt like a team-of-one. The challenges and triumphs that make up my days are experiences shared by many, across different schools, and the network of fellow Advancement Professionals across the chapters are friendly, open, and \u2018get it\u2019.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re a Member who has been on the fence about attending, or a School reluctant to see key staff \u2013 plural \u2013 out of the office for 3-5 days\u2026 it is well worth the imposition. Block out the time in your calendars. Include projected attendance costs into the base line of your next 2 year budget plan. I hope to see you in Perth in 2024.<\/p>\n
Danielle Nicolas<\/strong><\/p>\n Communications Coordinator | St Dominic\u2019s Priory College<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have worked within Education for 13 years. I have been a ‘School Secretary \/ Desktop Publisher’ (yes, one title!), an ‘Event Administrator’, and a ‘Communications Coordinator’ with an increasing side of ‘all things Marketing’. In every iteration, my work has been conducted as a ‘team-of-one’; my non-teaching colleagues each wearing a distinctly different hat. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":674,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","class_list":["post-672","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-sa-nt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-sa-nt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-sa-nt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-sa-nt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-sa-nt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/educateplus-sa-nt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}