Three years in, we’re still just as fired up about hosting Calgary’s SAIT Event Management students at GO WEST. For three days, these future event profs trade classroom theory for real-time, real-world networking, and this year (spoiler), we couldn’t be prouder.
We firmly believe every student should experience the rapid-fire hallway chats with fellow event profs that speedrun building confidence and community. And this year, we wanted to do it a little differently.
So, we threw the students right into the heart of the action—the trade show floor—and turned networking into a game (literally).
Enter: TRADE-SHOW, our fast-paced, full-colour, retro-style booth designed to put students in the driver’s seat. With a plan, of course.
To get the convo started, the students became game show hosts armed with questions like “What’s your power song?” and “What event would you most like to crash?”
It’s safe to say we were all overwhelmed by the response and have to give props to our community. So many of you eagerly helped play a part in helping the students get their feet wet and their gums flapping. We saw you out there filling out their surveys and giving them the time of day (and not just because there was a $1000 WestJet voucher on the line).
And the impact? We’re happy to report that from the start to the end, these students were different people. We were super impressed with their ability to step out of their comfort zone and make the serious glow-up that can happen in just a few days at a conference that really nails networking.
Of course, none of this happens in a vacuum. While we’re tooting horns, we have to give a huge thanks to GO WEST for giving us the space to dream (and execute) big. It’s not without collaboration that we can throw students into a conference and trust they’ll thrive. GO WEST is our sure bet, and we can’t wait for next year.
While we keep tallying the results from our survey, keep your eye on your inbox! We’ll spill it all–including the one unexpected event so many of you want to crash. Any guesses?
