March 2023 SAA Advisors Corner

A Student-Centered Conference Experience

With the AAA annual conference right around the corner, I’m sure many of you are excited to experience your first professional trip, first time surrounded by hundreds of other audiology professionals, and maybe even your first time networking outside of your AuD/PhD program’s familiar cocoon. But with “firsts” often comes nerves as well. Fear not, friends, national SAA is here to create a comfortable, welcoming environment.

So let’s talk about how to navigate conference sessions as a student.

• Educational Sessions. Most of the conference sessions will be 30-minute to 2-hour long presentations on a particular topic that provide continuing education units (CEUs) for audiologists. As an audiologist, you need a certain number of hours CEUs to maintain your licensure and certifications. As a student, you are more than welcome to attend these sessions, although you will not yet need CEUs. Most educational sessions are included in the conference registration. Some however (such as Learning Labs) cost an additional fee; these sessions are usually on Wednesday before the formal start of the conference.
• Student-Focused Sessions. There are also student-based conference sessions on the schedule, just for you! These programs are specifically designed to be at a student’s learning level and might include topics on clinical care, externships, and more. Your SAA Programs Committee has been working hard all year on designing these sessions especially for you, so make sure to check them out!
• Events and Activities. Outside of the “classroom”, there are other planned activities at the conference, like happy hours or social hours. Students are welcome at all events. There are also events geared specifically for students, as described in the event title or description, including the SAA Mix and Mingle on Wednesday April 19.

So, students, we hope to see you in Seattle April 19-22! If you haven’t registered for the conference yet, there is still time! While you’re planning, be sure to read more about the SAA Conference, an entire day conference just for students on April 19 (registration $40).

See you there!

Sarah Ostlie, AuD, CH-AP (she/her)
SAA Advisory Committee Chair