Speaker: Mieke Boecker
What were your highlights from attending CONNECTION, the 2024 CIP/APPI conference?
Mieke Boecker: My highlights from attending CONNECTION in 2024 were multifold. I really liked all the keynote speeches at the beginning of every day, I found those to be very motivational and inspirational across the board. Yeah, from a professional standpoint as a planning student, but also from a personal standpoint because they touched on a lot of topics that are relevant to many parts of life. I also love the diversity of the different presentations and sessions that were offered throughout every day. Making it very hard to choose which ones to go to. But at the same time, that also made it possible to really go after something that I know I'm interested in such as Nature Based Solutions Planning, there was a talk specifically on that which was really fun to attend. And then of course, the social highlight of getting to meet professional planners as a planning student and getting to hear what their work is like and what their work life balance tips are. But also meeting other planning students or fresh graduates of planning programs and hearing about their experiences in the working world. That was really great too.
Were you able to make good connections with other attendees?
Mieke Boecker: I was able to make great connections with other attendees, particularly the other CIP awards recipients. CIP did a great job introducing us to each other through the first night social event. We all met in the lobby of the hotel that we were staying at and we got to meet other professional planners who walked over to the social event with us. And so yeah, that was a great, great way to break the ice between the different recipients, but also members of CIP, which yeah, just made for easier conversation. And then every morning with the breakfast, depending on which table you sat at, you were also able to make new connections. And I made an effort to try to talk to new people. So, yes, it was definitely very easy to, to connect with others and to exchange contact information. So I know there will definitely be people that I'll be reaching out to in the future after graduation.
How do you think the experience will impact your future career?
Mieke Boecker: I think that the experience of getting to go to CONNECTION in Edmonton will impact my future career by having exposed me to the experiences of planners from different backgrounds and different careers. So having been provided with a glimpse of the work that they do in their specific fields, will allow me to apply that knowledge as I try to pave my own path in life or in the planning profession. So I think, yeah, just the exposure to all the different possibilities in the planning profession that the CIP annual conferences provide particularly planning students with because we're so new to the field that it can feel overwhelming sometimes knowing what you actually want to do or what you think you might want to specialize in at the moment. That can be a bit disorienting. But seeing that there's so many paths that you can take in that you can start on one path and then maybe switch and the different sectors that you can work in from private to public. That's really, yeah, it was really eye opening but also humbling and calming in a way and just knowing that there is such a, a great sense of community across planners was really heartwarming.
Lastly, do you have a message for the Ages Foundation, the funder of the travel awards program?
Mieke Boecker: I just want to say that I am very grateful to the Ages Foundation for their generosity and their support of planning students who have received the CIP Awards. As a student, financial support is incredibly important as we often have no or very little income during our student years. So, and that can prevent students from attending events like CIP just because the funds aren't there. So the fact that the Ages Foundation provides hotel coverage, food costs, flight and travel costs or provides yeah, support for that. That is a huge leg up for the the awards recipients. I feel like if that support hadn't been provided, I would have thought twice about attending. So thank you very much for, for providing that support. I learned a lot at CIP and I think it, yeah, almost, I don't wanna say reinvigorated, but it definitely added to the passion that I feel for planning. So I'm I'm grateful in that sense as well that I got to attend because it can bring a bit of clarity to why I'm pursuing planning in the first place. And I definitely got that through attending the conference. And I know that I'd like to continue attending the conferences. And so it was, it was a great experience and I'm very grateful to have been supported by the Ages Foundation throughout it. So, thank you again.
