Previously, while following new localization graduate student Tyson Shelley, we've read his reasons for choosing to attend Localization World and his impressions of the first day. Now that the conference has concluded, here are his final thoughts:
"Attending the conference was very beneficial. I am sure the benefits from attending will continue to increase over time as I keep in contact with the people I met. Spending two days talking to experienced professionals about what they do and how they got started was great. I got a lot of different takes on the industry and how to be successful in it.
"One example of successful networking happened through a representative of a leading provider of translation and localization services that I met on the first day. He was very happy to offer ideas about who to approach for finding potential internships. On the second day, he unexpectedly approached me at lunch and informed me he had found a local company that was looking for interns. He gave me the card of the person I needed to contact. Another attendee said they had never had interns at his company but immediately started brainstorming how he could create an opportunity that would involve an internship for me, and others down the road...
"In addition to the huge opportunity for tapping into people's brains and asking questions, as a student I also thought the presentations were highly valuable. Among the many presentations I attended, it was great to hear MIIS alumni speak about their current and past work. Overall, I am very glad I was able to attend the conference and get an early foot in the industry’s door."
Kudos to the Students
As I have previously expressed here and in the presentation "Breaking into the Industry," it is a great idea for students to take the initiative to attend industry conferences and rub shoulders with the pros. It's wonderful that Tyson was self-motivating enough to attend the conference. I hope other students will follow his lead.
Kudos to the Professors
It is also great when professors help guide their students to such events. (And others like Tyson's professors help to adjust course schedules so that attendance was possible.) Professor Alan Melby at Brigham Young University is a great example of this. Every year he teaches a course on translation technology and brings his entire class to the annual ATA Conference. One of his students recently told me that this year is no different and the class will be flying out to the ATA Conference next week in New York, NY.
Kudos to the Industry Professionals
Finally, it was great that everyone at the conference was so welcoming to help mentor this student. From the Localization World producers who provided a generous student discount to the many attendees who answered Tyson's questions, everyone in the industry has proven once again that we can be very gracious and classy.
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