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Mrs. Wendy Pulliam, myself, and Dr. Shannon Salley after the annual members meeting on Saturday morning

Attending professional conferences as a student is a great way for me to begin networking with other professionals.  It is also a great way to become involved within my profession by learning about advocacy, continuing education, and the importance of state associations.  This was my second time attending the annual SHAV conference.  After almost a full year of clinical internships, I felt that I learned so much more this year at SHAV when compared to last year. It was great to be able to attend sessions that were related to real topics that I am experiencing in my clinical placement and then to share some of that new information with my clinical supervisor on the following Monday.  The SHAV conference was a special event for me this year.  This was my first time attending as the student representative for the SHAV executive board.  I was responsible for organizing student volunteers to help run the registration table and to help set up the CDF silent and live auctions.  Additionally I participated in the annual members meeting on Saturday morning which gave me more insight on how professional state organizations are run.  I believe being exposed to these professional experiences in graduate school is a great way to get a head start as an involved professional once graduate school is over.  I am very grateful to the Longwood University Graduate College for funding a large part of my experience at SHAV.