2018 NSA Conference Recap

Happy Fall, ya’ll! This post is dedicated to my first-timers experience at the annual NSA conference!

This year I had the privilege of attending the annual NSA conference. The NSA is the National Stuttering Association and they host an annual conference during the summer where hundreds of people who stutter gather to meet others who stutter, network, and so much more. I attended my first conference this past summer in Chicago!

It was truly an amazing experience to meet so many other people who stutter. There were workshops everyday, ranging from stuttering in the workplace, advertising to strangers, and awesome guest speakers, just to name a few. Joe Biden was a speaker in 2004, and I didn’t even know he stuttered! (Ben Jealous, another political figure in the DMV political realm also stutters!). This year the keynote speaker was Terry Finley, the President and CEO of West Point Thoroughbreds, a horse racing partnership company. He was one of the owners of the 2017 Kentucky Derby winner, Always Dreaming. It was so inspiring to hear his story of success. As a person who stutters, it can be very easy to avoid situations where you don’t assert for yourself. (I realize the phrase “person who stutters” is quite repetitive in this post, but it’s how I describe myself and how lots of other people advertise they stutter. I used to say “I have a speech impediment, however my stutter doesn’t impede me to do anything). His speech was my absolute favorite part of the conference-it gave me chills! (my boyfriend who tagged along and is also a big horse lover may have even shed a tear or two!).

One of the workshops I attended was about stuttering in the workplace-how you disclose that you stutter, who you disclose to, how you feel stuttering around your boss, etc. The attendees split into groups and tackled various topics about stuttering in the workplace, and my group focused on advertising. We shared our perspectives on when we’ve advertised, success stories we’ve had, and some not-so-great experiences. One of the stories I shared was advertising to a hiring manager during an interview, only to learn that his colleague stuttered and made a podcast about it! It’s crazy how something that can seem so personal to you is more common in the general population than you think.

Another highlight about the conference, and perhaps my most cherished, is the people I met. I met so many awesome people, a ton of which actually were from the same area as me! We all went out to the bars and danced, mingled, and had a blast. Since we were there for the 4th of July, a small group of us got together and watched the fireworks on the pier-then got poured on our walk home. It was so chaotic but so fun at the same time!

While being at the conference all day was super exciting, it was a whole different experience going out and mingling with people who don’t stutter. I remember being at one rooftop bar (with a gorgeous skyline view) and talking to this guy about why we were in Chicago, and he seemed fascinated by the conference. It was so special to be able to go out in the “real world” so to speak and still be yourself while also being so vulnerable. I’m super excited for next year’s conference, which will take place in Fort Lauderdale. I can’t wait to be surrounded by sun, sand, and stuttering (that was the catch phrase in the 2019 conference email, haha!)

To summarize, the conference was an awesome experience and one I’ll remember for many years to come. I absolutely cannot wait for next year!

Thanks for reading, and if any fellow conference attendees are reading this, I hope you’re pumped for next year!

xoxo 

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