My MPI Experience in the time of COVID-19

2020 was a year that challenged me like no other.  I have always made it my mission to learn something from every interaction, from every person I meet, and from every new experience I have. Working at a science school, I was usually able to learn something new on a daily basis. Most of it was not something that would change me or challenge me in my job, it was just knowledge – some that helped me to create a better guest experience for a major specific lecture – some that I just found fascinating and will one day help me win a trivia game.

Starting in March, 2020 became the year that my entire career, the basis on which I defined my professional existence, changed, overnight.  A global pandemic shut down my job – we were no longer meeting in person.  Up until that point, I had rarely done virtual events or meetings.  We occasionally had a speaker present remotely, we had pre-recorded content to be shown during in person meetings, and of course, we live streamed events (and classes!) to folks who were geographically unable to attend in person.  Suddenly, I had an entire University looking to me to help them navigate these changes.  It was a daunting challenge.  One that left me with a stomach full of knots, blood pressure that was elevated beyond normal, stress, and anxiety like I hadn’t experienced in my professional life…. ever.

I turned to MPI for help and they delivered.  The professional message boards were a huge help, I was able to read the questions others were posing.  I posed a few myself and the outpouring of information, the offers of assistance, and genuine willingness to help were astounding.  There was no ego in 2020, just a group of folks who were all in the same storm but not in the same boat.  MPI and their partners offered webinars on virtual events – platforms, content, attendee engagement, best practices, you name it – they provided me with what I needed.  I still had knots in my stomach, but the blood pressure went down to normal levels!

My local chapter, MPI Philadelphia, gave me more this year than any other.  I am truly an introvert, and, in the past, I have struggled with attending events because walking into a room full of people I don’t know is difficult for me.  MPI Philadelphia Board Members took time out of their schedules, while dealing with the same storm, to call, email, check in and connect.  A huge shout out to the board members who went above and beyond in their support of me - Nikki Benner, Brian Follett, and Linda Jones.

I would also like to thank my fellow Philly chapter Study Group Committee members.  The zoom meetings to discuss how to best deliver content to our attendees, the sharing of tips, tricks, and app’s was so very helpful.  For me, the most beneficial aspect of the COVID crisis with this group was the opportunity to connect in ways that I had not been able to do for the eight years I have been on the committee.  Normally, we communicate via email, which is super-efficient but leaves little room for connection. This year I was able to put faces with names and find common ground on which to build relationships.  I am enormously grateful to this committee and incredibly proud of the work we did in 2020. 

I met and connected some incredible people at MPI Philly this year. I am so very grateful for the MPI Community in general and thankful for the opportunities that the COVID crisis afforded. I am looking forward to the chance to get more involved with my chapter in 2021 and thanks to MPI and their partners, I feel more confident in my ability to tackle whatever comes my way this year.

The greatest gifts to come out of 2020 for me professionally:

• For the first time in my entire career, failure was an option. People were open minded, they were willing to try, their definition of success had changed, overnight. 
• Expectations changed – suddenly – and for the first time – content was secondary to connection. Our institution is a hands-on school. We meet to discuss, we meet to learn, and we meet to socialize. Going virtual, changing the way we connect with people, had a profound effect on what people expected from their meetings.  Content is still incredibly important, but human interaction, was just as valuable a commodity.
• Flexibility – we all had to adjust to working remotely.  Some people were also navigating the challenges of small children, some were navigating homeschooling their children.  The traditional schedule of 9-5 Monday through Friday was not going to work if we were going to be successful. As a meeting planner, my schedule had always been flexible. My experience in navigating a flexible schedule for years was invaluable in helping others find new ways to thrive.
• Compassion – I met my co-workers pets, their spouses, their children, their parents, and I saw into their homes. I was in awe of how we all become more compassionate and understanding. From dogs barking during meetings to small children playing with toys on screen while their parent worked. It became the new normal, it pulled back the curtain and gave us all a new perspective, a better understanding, and an increased acceptance of the unexpected.
• Inclusion – virtual events leveled the playing fields in so many ways.  People who couldn’t afford to travel or who couldn’t take the time away from work to attend a conference were suddenly able to attend from the comfort of their own homes. Most of the webinars I attended had an option for closed captioning or alternate language. The chat features allowed me to chime in with comments without disrupting the event. I was also able to send messages to others whose comments or questions resonated with me in some way. We took conversations offline and were able to delve deeper into solutions for a particular problem.