NCFR Conference
Hey everyone! This past week five of us from the HDFS Department student board headed to the national conference hosted by NCFR (National Conference on Family Relations). This year it was held in Little Rock, Arkansas and the theme was “Lenses on Family.” We flew out Wednesday morning and returned on Saturday afternoon. While we were there, there was SO much to do! We attended different sessions where various people presented their research and explained the impact it could have on our field of work. We also were able to meet some really important people and do a little networking. The conference seemed to challenge all of us to step out of our student roles and become professionals for a few days. It was a wonderful learning experience, and really gave us all a taste of what it is like to be a professional. I felt really encouraged in my professional development and gained some valuable insight into my future. Overall we all had a great time and we all commented that we had obtained some much needed information about what it is like to be a family science professional. On Saturday morning I presented at a round table discussion. My topic was “Advocacy as Service Learning.” A used-to-be Messiah Professor, Dr. Deb Berke, and I presented our research based on a required class taken as part of the HDFS and FCSE curriculum. We presented on the pros and cons of using advocacy as service learning. In other words we tried to encourage others to include advocacy in their curriculum. Advocacy is characterized as “fighting on behalf of another.” An example would be someone who tries to petition to have a certain service offered to those on welfare. When you advocate for an individual, you give them a voice that they may not otherwise have. This presentation was a wonderful chance to learn what it was like to present and work hard when it comes to doing something like that. There are many hours that go into writing the proposal, the paper, and then putting together the presentation. I learned SO much about the process through this opportunity. I would definitely recommend this experience to anyone who is interested. We also have some available scholarships to those who are interested in going on the trip. Next year it is to San Francisco, California! Please contact Dr. Hamon if you are interested in going! 