Viva Advising! NACADA Las Vegas Conference Preview - Adventures in Advising

Janelle Yasukochi, Maria Aladjova, and Kevin McVay of University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the dynamic trio co-chairing this year’s NACADA Annual Conference in Las Vegas share what makes this year’s event a must-attend. With the theme "Viva Advising: Excellence in Student Support," this conference is a celebration of community, growth, and the future of advising. Whether you're a seasoned advisor or just starting out, this episode offers a dynamic preview of what promises to be an energizing and impactful gathering for the advising profession. 

Register for the conference on or before September 11, 2025!

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Transcript

Ryan Scheckel: [00:00:00] Hey, welcome back to another episode of the Adventures in Advising podcast. My name is Ryan Scheckel. I'm really excited about our guests on the show today. I, I know a lot of y'all know I'm old but my second. Annual conference was all the way back in 2005 in Las Vegas. And and certainly I have fond memories of the annual conference in Las Vegas in 2015.

Ryan Scheckel: Looking forward to be back there this October. And we have a triumvirate of conference co-chairs with us today to talk about the annual conference and the work that they're doing, along with the conference planning committee and the association to get ready for this big event. And so I'm so excited to have Maria and Kevin and Janelle here today.

Ryan Scheckel: One of the things that we do on the podcast, of course, is give [00:01:00] our guests a chance to talk about their journey, their path in higher education and essentially what their origin story is. And so I didn't know if anyone wanted to start off, introduce themselves, talk about their role, and and what you do, where you are for your paid job and then what else you're doing to get to that point.

Ryan Scheckel: So anyone wanna start us off? 

Maria Aladjova: Absolutely. Hi Ryan. And everyone. My name is Maria. I was born and raised in Europe. Came to UNLV on a volleyball scholarship. Long time ago I completed a bachelor's in psychology while I was also playing for the volleyball team. After I graduated, I went back to Europe and played some professional volleyball while also completing a master's in sports psychology.

Maria Aladjova: Decided to return to UNLV to pursue a second master's. This time in clinical mental health counseling. I currently work at UNLV as a senior academic advisor, and I'm also pursuing a PhD. Thank you so much for having me today. 

Janelle Yasukochi: Hi everyone. My name is Janelle Yasukochi and I am the Assistant [00:02:00] Director of Undergraduate Advising Practice at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Janelle Yasukochi: I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. I completed my Bachelor's of Science and Biochemistry at Cal State East Bay, so yay Cal State. And then I also got my MBA at UNLV. How I got into higher education. I initially worked as a peer mentor when I was an undergraduate student, which then led me to where I am today instead of a lab environment where biochemistry would typically take you.

Janelle Yasukochi: I worked at a higher institution in Fuka, Japan for three years, and then started working for UNLV back in 2017. I started off as an admin. Assistant, an advising office. Moved my way up to Senior Advisor, RPC, or Retention Pro, progression completion coordinator, and then academic advising coordinator in my current office.

Janelle Yasukochi: And now where I'm at today is an assistant director. 

Kevin McVay: Hi everyone. My name is Kevin McVay. I'm [00:03:00] very excited to be here and to talk to you all about the NACADA conference. It's very interesting to talk about myself. I tried to talk about other things, so this is actually a tough question for me. However just to share with the crowd, I was originally born in the Philippines and I moved to the Las Vegas area when I was around five or six.

Kevin McVay: So I was a toddler still. I had my entire. K to 12 education here in Las Vegas, and I decided to attend UNLV once I completed high school. So I was a pretty traditional first time, full-time freshman at UNLV. At that time I really wasn't outta my shell yet. I was very reserved and shy. And UNLV really provided a lot of those opportunities for growth.

Kevin McVay: I became involved in a bunch of things and before you know it, I was already. Working as a higher ed professional without knowing it. I'm sure a lot of stories ran true for some of you all in that regard. Didn't know it was a career. I originally received my bachelor's degree in marketing and I [00:04:00] wanted to work in the advertising industry.

Kevin McVay: I did do that for a bit. Found found a lot more interest in coming back to UNLV and paying it forward with the students that I used to work with when I was a student. And thankfully I had an opportunity to come back. I worked in student affairs for a little bit, specifically in programming and student success.

Kevin McVay: Then I transferred into advising actually as I was pursuing my master's degree. I did have a classroom assignment where I had to look into a functional area that I wasn't. As familiar with and advising was that functional area. I had a few different interviews with folks just to get to know the field and I fell in love with it.

Kevin McVay: I actually funny enough, did an internship at our Greenspun College of Urban Affairs where Janelle was working at that time, and then from there ended up receiving a full-time academic. Advising role in the College of Sciences. From there I've worked my way up for the last seven years to the retention progression and completion coordinator, and now as [00:05:00] assistant director for the College of Science, specifically working on not just retention activities, but ways to engage students and ensure that they persist to graduation.

Ryan Scheckel: Welcome everybody. It is it's always great to hear those perspectives and I know there are people listening. Who are gonna find commonalities and themes in everyone's story there. What can you tell us about the conference theme? How does it tie into the broader goals of academic advising and how does it get people motivated for the upcoming event?

Kevin McVay: Yeah, that's a really good question. I'll take this one. So the conference theme is always gonna be like a fun discussion, right? Because we wanna get excited about the conference and we wanna see what can resonate well with attendees because attendees come from all over the world. We're a diverse group and we wanna ensure that.

Kevin McVay: That theme can resonate across the board. So what's really great, first, before talking about the theme, we wanna talk about the planning committee a little bit. We've selected folks from different institutions, of course, because of the diverse [00:06:00] perspectives they share. And then from there. In regards to theme, we really try to just brainstorm and put ideas out there really stream of conscious thought based on previous conferences, previous experiences where people have worked and what they value when they attend.

Kevin McVay: NACADA. And then from there we actually just vote on different themes that we think can resonate and then we eventually come to a consensus. It is a pretty democratic process and we did have a few themes prior to the theme we selected that we looked into. So some of the previous themes were all you can eat educated by Thrive.

Kevin McVay: We had advising Royale. Deciphering the Secrets of Student Success advising in the Desert, moving Student Success from a Mirage to an Oasis. So as you can see from those previous themes we were looking into, we really wanted to incorporate the Las Vegas area. Ultimately, though, we decided on our conference theme to be Veeva Advising Excellence in Student [00:07:00] Support.

Kevin McVay: And that theme came from the fact that we wanna really celebrate the advising field right now. Times can get contentious. In the news and a lot of places, there's a lot of difficulty and challenges and we really want to show that we can also celebrate the good in advising the things we do well the influence we have on the student population.

Kevin McVay: So we really wanted to celebrate that. And then Veeva, of course, is an O to Vegas with Veeva Las Vegas. There's that symbolism there. And then excellence in student support just shows how we excel in really impacting students positively and really helping them out. All of us in advising we're former students in some capacity.

Kevin McVay: So we wanted to show, we are. Professionals who are here to really support and system generation after generation. So that's really a little bit about that theme. I do wanna share that we wanted to also be intentional with the inclusive spaces that NACADA holds. So [00:08:00] our theme tries to incorporate inclusivity in that way.

Kevin McVay: So from the presentation and speakers that we're planning we really wanna ensure that. We have the space to not just feel safe in our discussion, but to share topics of inclusivity and diversity and create connections across the field. And we're really hoping Las Vegas is that area to do

Ryan Scheckel: yeah, I love that.

Ryan Scheckel: Especially. Taking a moment to pause and reflect on the fact that we were students too. And we, there is a heritage there. And there is a space and a place and a time that we're a part of. And so I love the idea of celebration and and really connecting with all the ways we support students.

Ryan Scheckel: So some people who might be listening to this. May not be familiar with all the details. What can you tell us specifically about the 2025 annual conference? When is it, what's the location? How about those registration deals, details? Anybody have that info? 

Janelle Yasukochi: We are gonna have the conference in our beautiful and vibrant city of Las Vegas, [00:09:00] Nevada.

Janelle Yasukochi: So it's going to be held on Sunday, October 26th. To Wednesday, October 29th at the Caesars Palace, which is in the heart of our famous Las Vegas strip. There's going to be an option to attend the conference either in person or online. I'm gonna roll out a couple of numbers here for you, but everything that I'm mentioning today, it's also listed on our NACADA website for the annual conference.

Janelle Yasukochi: But in terms of how much it costs. So there's going to be that early bird fee for the in-person option. It'll cost $675 for current NTA members, 900 for non NACADA members, and 4 75 for students in retirees. And then for the virtual option, early bird cost, it'll be 3 75 for NACADA members, 5 25 for non NACADA members, and 2 85 for students in retirees.

Janelle Yasukochi: So just please keep in mind that the deadline for these early [00:10:00] bird options is Thursday, September 11th. So please make sure to register by then before the fees increase for the later deadlines. And again this is all posted on the NACADA website. Conference. Other things that you'll see on our website as well, that conference attendees can see is a tentative schedule of all the things happening in the conference.

Janelle Yasukochi: There will be a more detailed schedule posted later on the website with all the presentation information. There's just a lot of presentations that we have going on. So thank you for your patience. But again, please visit the website at a later time to see that detailed schedule. The registration information that I just shared is there hotel and booking information and so much more will be added as it gets closer to the start of the conference.

Janelle Yasukochi: One thing that I did wanna note about the hotel part is you do need to register for the conference first before you can access the link to [00:11:00] book your room at Caesars Palace. And the related information for travel is listed on the website, so you can see that before clicking onto that booking link website from NACADA.

Janelle Yasukochi: But also please make sure to note that the hotel cutoff date is Friday, October 3rd. Right now, there is a lot of room available for the conference, but again, like I said, please make sure you register, especially for that early bird deadline. And yeah, we're gonna, be excited to see you there.

Ryan Scheckel: I know every time I've been it's been a fantastic experience and people are making decisions, thinking through it. I encourage them to consider just the credible value you get from this experience. But I do know that there are some institutions. That might have some constraints financially.

Ryan Scheckel: There may be some uncertainty about funding, especially fiscal year stuff that we're waiting on. As they're deciding if they're gonna be sending folks or if they can go as a team or whatever it is what would your advice be for those folks who are making those [00:12:00] decisions? How can supervisors and in institutions find that support for advisors to attend the annual conference?

Maria Aladjova: Thank you for that question, Ryan. I can definitely answer that. As someone who has attended multiple regional and national NACADA conferences, I can assure you that NACADA is amazing at providing research backed strategies and evidence-based innovative practices that. Help advisors learn more and be better at what we do so we can immediately apply those strategies to improve student engagement and outcomes.

Maria Aladjova: So basically, sending our advising team to an academy is an investment in increasing retention rates and closing equity gaps, which are key institutional priorities. And in addition to that, staying aligned with national best practices insurance. That we remain competitive and responsive to changing student needs, which I feel like they're changing every [00:13:00] day.

Maria Aladjova: Investing in advisor development reduces burnout as well as turnover, which ultimately saves the institution money. And finally, the knowledge that can be scaled. So what one advisor learns can be shared across. Teams post conference, which is something that we do in our advising center. When one of us attends a conference, we then sit as a team and we talk about what was learned and what we can share and what are the key takeaways and how we can implement them so we can be better as a team.

Ryan Scheckel: Yeah. I always talk about with our students and our advisors carrying that benefit. From one community to the next. And and there's so many things so many things that happen during an annual conference, both in sessions and outside of sessions. Just the knowledge and the benefits shared in between folks attending.

Ryan Scheckel: But I also know that opening and ccle closing keynote speakers can be a big draw as well. Is there anything you can tell us about any of those plans at this stage of the game? Is there anything [00:14:00] you can reveal? 

Janelle Yasukochi: I can take that question. So for the process of choosing the opening and closing keynote speakers, our members of our planning committee worked with the NACADA research committee to review a long list of potential keynote speakers.

Janelle Yasukochi: Our goal was to find people who can motivate and energize conference attendees with a focus on student success. To align with our conference theme during the selection process, the candidates were evaluated based on a rubric with a selection committee who examined their presentation styles, research or content areas and values aligned with NACADA and or their involvement in higher education.

Janelle Yasukochi: As you have probably seen in your emails earlier we are excited to share that the opening keynote speaker will be Dr. Cecilia Santiago Gonzalez, the Associate Vice President of Student Success at California State Polytech University Pomona, and the closing [00:15:00] keynote speaker will be Dr. Dariel DT Henry, the director of Trio at Bristol Community College in Massachusetts.

Janelle Yasukochi: Keynote speakers are pioneers in the academic advising community and have a great amount of experience in working with a diverse student population. We are looking forward to their words of wisdom and inspiration at the conference. 

Ryan Scheckel: I also know that there's usually other special events that are in the works and stuff.

Ryan Scheckel: The conference planning committee is working through so many possibilities. Is there anything we can learn about other activities during the conference that we should miss? 

Maria Aladjova: Yeah, absolutely. You got that right. Our fantastic planning committee is definitely coming up with great ideas to make the conference a unique experience for all of our attendees.

Maria Aladjova: So definitely get excited. It's going to be amazing. I know for sure that the welcome reception will be so much fun. In addition to the welcome reception, we are going to have different [00:16:00] types of wellness activities and something that I can say from personal experience is that all the sessions are going to be worth your time.

Maria Aladjova: I usually feel torn between going to one versus another, and it's so hard to make a decision. Something that I can say is that we're going to have a book drive, which is something new that we're going to implement this year. And the book drive is an opportunity to connect with other professionals who are book lovers and we're going to be exchanging books and then we're going to donate them to some local spaces.

Ryan Scheckel: Awesome. Now I'm like, how many books can I put in my bags? We'll see. But yeah, I I know there's gonna be a lot and I know that people as they're imagining that visit and stuff have so many choices. But I'm wondering what your advice is for attendees who are trying to balance that professional growth and the fun of the venue while they're in Las Vegas.

Ryan Scheckel: Anything that you would recommend as they approach making those [00:17:00] decisions? 

Janelle Yasukochi: I'll start us off with this question. So from my personal experience of balancing personal or professional growth and having fun at a conference, I actually think that networking is really fun and it's a great way to, build your professional development, build your career.

Janelle Yasukochi: Something that Maria has said in the past to me is expanding comfort zone. I love that. Of comfort zone, but the fact that you're expanding it, I think that's a great professional development thing that you can do for yourself. And gonna, the conference, especially annual, it's huge. You're gonna meet a lot of people and when you meet new people, these are things that I do, but when you wanna meet new people, ask them questions, learn about what their best practices are in their unit, in their institution and ask about their experiences, whether it's as an advisor or just their experience in life in general. I live.

Janelle Yasukochi: To have the casual [00:18:00] conversations with people just to start it off. And then that just has led to professional development opportunities for me. So here I am as a conference coach here, started off with a casual conversation sometime in my past. So I definitely. Wanna share that advice with our conference attendees and just everyone listening to this podcast in general network, expand your comfort zone.

Janelle Yasukochi: Let your curiosity lead you to new directions and new opportunities. That's how you're going to be able to develop yourself. And then definitely find a mentor. I've always found that to be helpful as I've. Continue to learn how to, grow myself whether it's in my personal life or my professional life, having a mentor, also AKA friend.

Janelle Yasukochi: Usually my mentors become my friends in life. They have always been that sounding board for me and they've always encouraged me whenever I felt like I was in doubt. And then of course, you can see me working with Kevin and Maria. We're an team. And so as you figure out your professional [00:19:00] development and you meet these new people, you're gonna have like our dream team here.

Janelle Yasukochi: But for yourself. 

Ryan Scheckel: Yeah, I just echo the same thing. We, so much of what I think about myself now in my professional role is built from the people that I met in these sorts of spaces. Certainly my local professional community on my campus has really contributed. But when you can expand. Comfort zone include more people in your community.

Ryan Scheckel: Again, so much benefit carried forward. But, each of these annual conferences is in a place a very local sort of experience. And I'm curious what's going on. Anything you can share with us from the sort of local excursion or opportunities that they should be on the lookout for.

Ryan Scheckel: Is there anything that you recommend or that we should expect? This conference in Las Vegas. 

Kevin McVay: That's a really good question. I'll take a little bit of this. And feel free to chime in as needed. Las Vegas, you know it's on the map, right? Folks know what Las Vegas is the glitz and glam of the [00:20:00] city.

Kevin McVay: We have high energy, some folks say We don't sleep, we live in casinos, et cetera, et cetera. For those who haven't been to Las Vegas, yes, you'll see a lot of that, but we also wanna connect folks to not just the glitz and glam, but to really the culture of Las Vegas. What makes the city beat, right?

Kevin McVay: And it is more than that as well. So whether you enjoy the casino life and the nightlife and the clubs and the shows. Feel free to partake. We are trying our best right now to look into some of those attractions to see what we can do for our NACADA members. So we hope to work with a lot of folks in that regard and we're currently working on that.

Kevin McVay: But for those who might prefer more of that. More peaceful side of exploring a new city. We really hope to also connect folks to the culture. We have an amazing arts district. We have hiking opportunities and recreation, right? We have national parks close by, state parks [00:21:00] close by. We have Lake Mead, red Rock.

Kevin McVay: Valley of Fire, death Valley so many amazing nature opportunities. So if that's more your thing, we have it here too. And then also in, in the conference itself, we hope to really have some more of those quiet spaces for reflection as well. So we wanna definitely cater to all demographics, not just those who.

Kevin McVay: Get their energy externally, but also those who get their energy internally as well. What's really unique about Vegas for those who have been here before is there's always something new to experience. I've been in Las Vegas for most of my life and every year there's just something new. So whether you're a returning member or brand new to the city, we welcome you with open arms and we're just excited to connect you to anything.

Kevin McVay: You wanna experience and that's what we hope NACADA is to you. It hopefully is a memorable experience that you can share with folks and get them excited for future [00:22:00] conferences. Let's make this one that's let's make this conference worthwhile and let's make it one to remember for sure. 

Janelle Yasukochi: I think I just wanna add some like local places that I've been to personally.

Janelle Yasukochi: One is the Mob Museum that's in downtown Las Vegas. So we've talked about the Las Vegas strip, but before the hype of that all happened, we have our OG downtown Las Vegas area. Remont Street is a huge thing there. But just definitely wanna. Point out museum. Because in my time as an advisor with the Greenspan College of Urban Affairs, we actually did a staff retreat there just to learn more about it.

Janelle Yasukochi: And it's really cool. Our UNLV faculty have helped with the research there, and it's just something totally different that I don't think I've ever seen in any other city. So it's really cool to learn about history in Las Vegas through that. And then too, if you really like the outdoorsy life, October weather is.

Janelle Yasukochi: It's kind a hit or miss. It can be hot still, but not [00:23:00] as hot as summer, thank God. But it can also be cool and chilly. Usually once h hits it gets really chilly, so hopefully it's good weather. But I did go kayaking at Emerald Cave one weekend. And so if you're here over the weekend and you want.

Janelle Yasukochi: That kind of experience of being in the water. Emerald Cave is really pretty. There is just, it's not too strenuous as someone who is not that great at physical sports. But it, you have a guide with you all the time and then when you get to the cave, it is just like a completely different experience.

Janelle Yasukochi: You forget that you started off in a desert and then you go down the Colorado River, but yeah, just wanted to point those two out. 

Maria Aladjova: If I may, I also would like to add I can definitely highlight the MRO cave. I've also been there. Such an amazing experience. Highly recommend. And in addition to that, I would also say for those of us who are interested in playing pickleball or volleyball [00:24:00] outdoors, if the weather allows for it, there's lots of opportunities to do that.

Maria Aladjova: I know pickleball is becoming quite popular here in Vegas, so if you're interested in finding out more about that, definitely we can connect you with opportunities to, get. Get moving after the conference, after sitting for the entire day, we can definitely play a couple games. 

Kevin McVay: To highlight a few of my interests as well because I know when I shared, I just talked in general.

Kevin McVay: But I just really wanted to highlight our Smith Center. So Smith Center is a performing arts center and they do a lot of local performances of shows, ballet, but also Broadway shows as well. So if you are interested in musicals, we can check out the schedule and see what is gonna be there during the time you're here with us.

Kevin McVay: But I like to go to that almost on a monthly basis. Really connects you to the community and it just feels really great to go out and see the talent. The city has to offer. In addition to that we talked [00:25:00] about recreation extensively, but one thing that's very unique is our Mount Charleston area.

Kevin McVay: So Mount Charleston is like a, like a very forest type of vibe. Much different than the desert scene, and it's less than an hour away to get there from the north side of Vegas. So it's not a huge. Huge distance away. And it's so unique to go there and realize, wow, I'm changing climates that quickly.

Kevin McVay: You are in this desert area and then boom, you are in this forest woodland type feel. And. In December, it does snow there. I don't know if it'll be snowing that early, but you definitely have this feeling of wonder while you're in there. So I definitely recommend for folks who really like that nature.

Kevin McVay: Definitely attend there. And what I was sharing about those upcoming new things we do have a really cool experiential very interactive light type of experience called Meow Wolf. [00:26:00] It's just like an exploration into. The unknown really. So if you want to spark your inner child, definitely go in there and experience everything it has to offer.

Kevin McVay: And hopefully, I can't guarantee this, but I've seen work on the new Universal Studios universal Studio Studios like horror experience that they're hoping to bring here to Vegas. And since work's been going on that for a while. Who knows, it is October. It's Halloween season. Maybe it will open up by then, so you just never know.

Ryan Scheckel: So much to do. I think that's one of the draws of course. And and there's gonna be a ton to learn. And there's gonna be so many opportunities outside of sessions and stuff. I know that your health and wellness co-chairs, your entertainment, hospitality co-chairs, they're gonna be busy and they're gonna be gooding ideas and possibilities in front of attendees and the whole conference as well too.

Ryan Scheckel: It's a lot of work. It's a lot of work that has gone into this so far and there's still a lot more to, to go. [00:27:00] I'm wondering though there's gonna be some people listening and be like how did they become co-chairs? Like how did this happen? And so it's often interesting to hear your journey in the association sense and that professional contribution sense.

Ryan Scheckel: So how did this happen? How did we get here? Tell us a little bit about that story. 

Maria Aladjova: I can start us off. Thank you for that question, Ryan. So for me personally, is working with Kevin and Janelle is amazing. There's no words to describe how grateful I am for those two. We really work well together.

Maria Aladjova: We've worked together in the past on different projects and we just get each other without extra words. We know what each of us will do and how to handle it. For the best results possible. In addition to that, we chose to serve as conference co-chairs because we believe deeply in the power of academic advising.

Maria Aladjova: So not just guiding students, but transforming lives. And NACADA has been the space where we've grown professionally and [00:28:00] personally, and we wanted to give back by helping shape an experience that's impactful, inclusive, and energizing for other advising professionals. Being co-chairs is definitely an opportunity to gain more professional development and elevate important voices in the field, especially those from the underrepresented communities.

Janelle Yasukochi: I guess just to add on to that I echo everything that Maria has said about working as a team Between Maria, Kevin, and myself I enjoy working with Kevin and Maria so much and I can't thank them enough. For being on the team.

Janelle Yasukochi: When they were looking for conference coch, so I actually didn't wanna do it at first, but Maria came to me and we worked together with the region eight, nine and 10 conference back in 2023 when it was in. And so of course I definitely wanted to support Maria. But then I [00:29:00] roped in Kevin and asked if we can do a tri chair option, which I don't believe.

Janelle Yasukochi: This, so thank.

Janelle Yasukochi: I do just wanna emphasize, my gratitude for the two of them for just supporting me in my personal journey on motherhood. I was definitely MIA throughout January through about the end of April. I tried to help out as much as I could in between the time of, planning the conference.

Janelle Yasukochi: These two have been such an amazing support team. They're more than just colleagues to me. They're my friends and family. And I think that's just been an amazing experience of being a conference co-chair just professionally development as well as, continuing. My network of friends and families and colleagues just through Maria and Kevin to start with NACADA executive members as well as our planning [00:30:00] committee.

Janelle Yasukochi: I'm actually super excited that I did say yes to Maria even though it was a little hesitant at the time when she first asked me, but I'm so happy that I decided to join her and Kevin on this journey, and I do definitely encourage others too. Join this journey, even if it's just starting by volunteering at the conference.

Janelle Yasukochi: That's actually how I started. Besides being an attendee, but just looking for ways to volunteer at the conference. Just to start with connecting with people. I first connected with Matt Markin, actually through one of our colleagues at UNLV, and then I started working with Maria more and yeah, here we are today.

Janelle Yasukochi: So yeah, that's just my take on how to get more involved and how I got in. 

Kevin McVay: I really love what Maria and Janelle shared, and I agree wholeheartedly with everything. I just. When I hear what they're sharing, I think about my first akata experience back in 2017 as a brand new advisor. I was actually still a grad student at [00:31:00] the time and I graduated a few months later.

Kevin McVay: However, volunteering really was that first in inroad for me to Ada. As Maria shared, expanding your conf con comfort zone was a very pivotal moment for me. So me getting to greet and give conference badges was my first experience at NACADA, but wow, what an amazing experience actually, because I was able to really get to know folks.

Kevin McVay: I had a rapid fate pace and eventually those folks who were my acquaintances, became my friends, became my family as Janelle shared, and it really is. A team oriented type of environment. When I think of NACADA, I don't just think about professional development. I think of family and the folks that I know and meet and regularly interact with at NACADA have become my family.

Kevin McVay: And that's really what it's about. So hopefully for those first time members, you will find your family and welcome to the veteran members to come back and have that family reunion with the people you love the most. [00:32:00] Outside of your fa your actual family, I should say. 

Ryan Scheckel: Yeah, of course. And my first annual conference, as I said, was in 2003 in Dallas, and it took me a solid 10 years to really learn how to conference different pace.

Ryan Scheckel: I didn't attend every year, I was here or there and stuff. And and then I realized just like anything else in life, it's directly proportional to what you put into it, is what you get out of it. And some people are gonna want to contribute to the profession and to the association in ways that might be a little bit more forward facing, let's say, presenting publishing in leadership roles or something like that.

Ryan Scheckel: But I even as an attendee, as a presenter. And even elected positions in NACADA. I really appreciate the work that the conference planning committee, the co-chairs, the volunteers do to ensure these amazing events happen the way they do. I know the executive office is a big part of getting these events completed and being consistent in the quality of experience.

Ryan Scheckel: But if folks [00:33:00] didn't step up to take the time to do the work, to come to podcasts to tell people more about it or whatever. Then our association and our profession might be in a different place. And so it's always going to come down to who's willing to make that effort. And some folks may feel like those forward facing options aren't their best fit.

Ryan Scheckel: So if you're looking for a way to make a connection to make a contribution to really be a part of the development of our profession and its place in higher education I would imagine that your volunteer co-chairs are still available if anyone is interested in that. So I would encourage folks to reach out and reach out to our co-chairs here.

Ryan Scheckel: Do you all, as we wrap up here, have a favorite thing about annual conferences? Just. Just from your past experience or something that you're particularly looking forward to as co-chairs this year? Is it a session type or an activity or something that happens that's just like your favorite thing about annual conferences?

Maria Aladjova: I can start. I would say my ultimate favorite thing is [00:34:00] networking with people, meeting various folks from everywhere. At the regional conference this year in Alaska, I actually talked to someone from CaNACADA, which I didn't expect. We were just sitting at the table and we started chatting and I learned so much from him.

Maria Aladjova: And I would say that. Everything about N Academy is amazing, but if I had to pick my top most amazing thing would be meeting professionals in the field and exchanging knowledge and tips and guiding each other, how to be better at advising and what we do with the students. 

Janelle Yasukochi: For me I'm gonna actually answer it.

Janelle Yasukochi: A two, an attendee. I would. My most favorite is to go to all of the sessions that, I'm typically interested in as a former R PC coordinator. I would definitely love to learn more about how other institutions work on the retention and the [00:35:00] persistence of our students and looking at the different barriers and challenges that our students face.

Janelle Yasukochi: And what are some innovative ways that other colleagues have addressed that and. Lack of, or support of resources, that's thing in higher education. And having that, I connect with different professionals. I have done that in the past where I've gone a presentation, talked to people within the session, whether it was something that was prompted by the presenters or just, talking to someone casually or even connected with the presenters afterwards to get more information.

Janelle Yasukochi: And I've always. Very grateful for the willingness from NACADA members to just share every idea that they've had. So that's definitely a plus in working in higher education. But as a person on the conference planning committee, especially as a co-chair it's a little harder for us to go to the sessions just because we're just running around [00:36:00] making sure everything is happening the way that it's supposed to happen and supporting.

Janelle Yasukochi: Conference itself. So it's a little harder to do what I just said as a conference attendee, but as a co-chair pretty similar to what Maria had said about the networking piece. I actually really enjoy just reconnecting with people that I've met in prior conferences. As I mentioned earlier, before Maria and I served as conference co-chairs for a region conference.

Janelle Yasukochi: And so we had served as a steering committee member within region nine. And so just. Meeting all the people that we met on the region c steering committee at the time and coming back at a annual conference or even at a regional conference. It's just so fun to connect with people again in person.

Janelle Yasukochi: It's so different versus, communicating via email or. Joining virtual meetings is just a whole different thing. And I've actually been able to, work with one of our former colleagues in the steering committee on [00:37:00] presentations and whatnot. And even just in our personal lives, we've just become really good friends.

Janelle Yasukochi: So I think that has been. Reconnecting with people and then again, meeting new people, making those new connections. Whether it's personal or professional. We have such a strong community in academic advising and people are just great. 

Kevin McVay: Janelle reminded me of my fond memories of volunteering in the past, at previous Lata conferences, both annual and regional on the planning committees and similar to what Janelle and Maria both said.

Kevin McVay: Just being able to share that comradery of experience together physically is amazing. I remember helping stuff goodie bags for folks. We were up until midnight, just chatting away a few days before the conference and wow, what a fun time. It doesn't sound, it sounds pretty mundane when you think about the process, but the people you're with is really what makes it worth it, and that's.

Kevin McVay: The beauty and value of [00:38:00] NACADA whether you're meeting new people or reconnecting that's really important to me. And one of my favorite experiences, even as an attendee, it's not just going to the sessions, but debriefing the sessions with people that you've met or that are going to the same sessions as you.

Kevin McVay: It really does feel like that classroom-based interactive environment, and I love that. Personally, I love to share, oh my goodness, I can't believe what I learned here. I know a lot of us take notes during the con the conference and sharing those notes together and nerding out on some of the student development theories we learn, or a new research based practice that can be pivotal in your own advising.

Kevin McVay: Work is fantastic. So those mini lunch socials that you have that are unexpected, that you're like, Hey, I didn't have this plan today, but let's just sit for an hour, grab a sandwich and talk about this really cool thing we just learned at this pre-conference workshop. Those are the really fun parts and there's so much more too, but I just really enjoy [00:39:00] the unexpected and NACADA has a lot of fun unexpected moments that I'm sure and hopefully in Vegas everyone gets to experience.

Kevin McVay: So I really look forward to working with our planning. Committee in person. They're a phenomenal group of people. A lot of them are very amazing, well-seasoned advisors and professionals and leaders in their local communities, and we have a lot to learn from each other. As much as I am in this role with Maria and Janelle, I wanna stay humble and realize, look, our planning committee are also experts in their areas.

Kevin McVay: We trust them. We are excited to work with them and I'm hoping for many more of those memories moving forward as we get closer to that conference. And one last thing I wanna share to attendees, especially first time attendees, is you don't have to start big. You can always start small, break it down.

Kevin McVay: We share it with our students. You might have this ultimate goal, but breaking it down makes it more feasible. That's what I had to learn as I was going and attending these conferences. I wanna [00:40:00] do everything, and I'm sure some folks can relate to that a lot but sometimes just taking a step back and exploring things on a one-on-one basis can really help you, one, determine your interest, but two, make it so it doesn't feel overwhelming.

Kevin McVay: And everyone's capable of, achieving those goals. But starting small sometimes helps and no matter how involved you wanna get into cada, there is something for you to experience. And we really hope you pursue those opportunities as they become available. 

Ryan Scheckel: Absolutely. One of my favorite things are those small little moments where you just capture the energy.

Ryan Scheckel: And I love the energy of watching presenters, especially a team of presenters, right before they're about to start their session. Or folks write at the beginning of something like the poster sessions. Or a pre-conference session, whatever it might be like that, that nervous crackle of we're gonna do this.

Ryan Scheckel: And it's so exciting every time that happens. And I know there's gonna be a ton of energy in Las Vegas at the annual conference, and I wanna [00:41:00] thank the conference co-chairs again for coming to the podcast, especially for all the work that you continue to do to make sure this is the best event.

Ryan Scheckel: So Maria, Janelle, Kevin, thanks very much for being on the podcast. Appreciate your time today.