.
By Richard Lee Hollenbach III, PhD
Conferences can be overwhelming: there are typically thousands of attendees, hundreds of technical sessions, and a very large room full of exhibitors from wall to wall. There are so many people, it can be difficult to know who is a board member and who is just as new as you are. Throw in visiting a new city or country, and it can all add up to be a very stressful experience for first time attendees or new members to the nondestructive testing industry.
If you have never attended the ASNT Annual Conference, or you want a way to make the event less frightening, consider applying to the RISE program!
The ASNT RISE program is a leadership development program that lasts 15 months and will prepare you for the ASNT Annual Conference in so many ways.
This year (2023) was my first time attending the Annual Conference, and I found these three benefits from the RISE program drastically improved my experience: an introduction to a network of other early-career members, arrival a day early to get established, and access to board members and leaders from the beginning. Were it not for these three awesome perks, my experience would have been simply overwhelming.
RISE Network
First, the key to a successful conference is not going through it alone. There is nothing more intimidating than getting lost in the maze of conference rooms or being bombarded by all of the visiting companies in the exhibit hall. Thus, the RISE program will provide you with connections to navigate the event with, even if it is your first time. This program accepts between 10 and 20 participants a year, so I was immediately connected with other early-career NDT folks. For the rest of the conference, I had other people to attend sessions, walk through the exhibit hall, and explore the city with.
.
.
If that is not enough, not only do the new RISE members attend the annual meeting, but the graduating members also attend. Thus, I was immediately connected with senior members that could serve as mentors for both the Annual Conference as well as the RISE program itself.
Early Arrival
The key to not getting lost at a conference, whether it is at a hotel, a convention center, or a combination, is to get a chance to walk around on your own ahead of time. Fortunately, in participating in the RISE program, I was required to arrive on Saturday night for a Monday conference. This early arrival not only allowed the RISE participants a chance to have their own training all day Sunday without the need to miss essential conference sessions, but also a chance to get the lay of the land early. I felt comfortable finding rooms around our hotel and convention center by Sunday evening, before the annual meeting started! Thus, I never missed as session, meeting, or presentation from there on out since I knew my way around already.
The early arrival also provided extra bonding time for our RISE class, so we would be able to recognize each other by name and face when the hustle and bustle of the conference began. With the extra time, we also had a better lay of the surrounding area, so we knew places to get dinner or explore before everyone else arrived for the annual meeting.
Access to Board Members
Finally, not only did we meet our fellow classmates early, but the RISE training provided a chance for us to meet ASNT Board Members and Senior Leadership over breakfast Sunday morning. This was an incredible experience for a few reasons. It was great to hear from the top leaders in the industry in such a small and intimate session—very different from meeting them in the large conference environment. Second, it allowed us to put some faces to names, so later in the annual meeting we could recognize them and strike up conversations, something I could not have done without RISE. Finally, it allowed the board members to see the future of the NDT industry, since all the RISE participants were brand new or less than 10 years into the profession.
The Bottom Line
If you have never attended the ASNT Annual Conference before, or you are interested in maximizing the impact it has on your career, consider applying to the ASNT RISE Leadership Development program. The benefits are immense, and not merely limited to the three outlined above. However, the RISE network you gain from the program, the benefits from early arrival to the conference, and the special access to the ASNT Board Members are impactful enough as it is. If you would like to jumpstart your Annual Conference experience, and turbocharge your NDT career, you should apply to be in the next class of RISE leaders.
_______
Author
Richard Lee Hollenbach III, PhD, PE, is a Thermal Science Engineering Consultant at Exponent, based in Atlanta, Georgia. He completed his doctorate in mechanical engineering at Duke University in 2022 and his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh in 2018. He is a licensed professional engineer in mechanical engineering in North Carolina.
.
ASNT RISE Leadership Development program nurtures promising NDT leaders by developing professional skills and boosting creative confidence, all while providing access to valuable tools, visibility, and networking opportunities essential for making a significant impact in the wider NDT community. Applications for the next class will be accepted beginning in February 2024.
.