I was scheduled to attend the upcoming 2016 NAA Convention, representing the state of Colorado as the proud and newly appointed President of the Colorado Alliance for Quality School Age Program (CAQSAP), the NAA State Affiliate. I was busy reaching out to our members, encouraging them to attend the convention and network when we got there. The trip had been planned for several months, but as the March date of the event drew closer, my reasons for wanting to attend were rapidly waning.
At the time, I was seriously reconsidering my entire career choice. The day-to-day stresses of work as a supervisor of a multisite program were wearing on me. There was a significant amount of staff turnover at the time, including resignations from some key full-time staff members. Additionally, we had just started another summer camp registration season with a new online registration software that crashed on registration day. I had angry parents yelling at me and my entire team.
Now, staff turnover and yelling parents are certainly not new to me—but after 21 years in the field, I was just feeling beaten up by it all. Although I was certainly proud to take on the role of President of CAQSAP, this newly acquired role came with some significant challenges. On top of all of that, there were stresses in my personal life.
When I arrived in Florida, I wasn't prepared for how the upcoming convention was about to turn everything around for me. I've been coming to NAA Conventions since the late '90s. I feel I was "raised" into my out-of-school time career under NAA and have a lot of admiration for the annual convention and how it can inspire out-of-school-time workers at all levels.
This convention, however, blew me away.
There were several occasions throughout the convention where I was on the verge of tears, because I was reminded about how much I love this work—and how important it is.
I was treated as a leader. The keynote speaker, Angela Duckworth, spoke to us about grit and inspired me to reflect on my own passion and perseverance. I made an incredible connection with Kari Knutson, a colleague from Colorado who spoke on emotional intelligence. She later came to my organization and spoke to all of my staff. By complete happenstance, I had dinner with a large group that included Roger Weissberg, chief knowledge officer, Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL). He connected me to another group in Colorado—Random Acts of Kindness—that accelerated my work on the topic of enhancing social emotional learning in out-of-school time programs.
When I arrived back home after the convention, I was so moved that I immediately sat down to write a thank you letter to NAA leadership Gina Warner and Heidi Ham.
Thank you both for all that you do. Thank you for what you're doing for the out-of-school time field on a national level. Mostly, thank you for the impression that you've had on me. Your work is so meaningful and impactful in so many ways.
The experiences and knowledge I gained at NAA16 were priceless: They refocused me and helped me find my footing again. I'm not sure if my words are eloquent enough to express how life-changing this experience really was, but participating in the convention truly motivated me to continue to stay in this field. I'm thankful for this opportunity to meet other professionals, hear their stories and gain valuable information from excellent trainers. I look forward to attending again.
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Written by Amber Stowe, children's programs supervisor, Foothills Park & Recreation District.
