HELLO INTERWEBS!
It has been such a long while since I wrote a blog and I can't think of a better reason to come back than to preach opportunity and access to conferences.
In 2018 I went on a crazy ride that was my first international speaking event in person! I went to Budapest, Hungary to keynote at the Reinforce Conference which was about AI. What an amazing stage and experience that was. It came about when I got a connection request on LinkedIn from a conference organizer who asked to talk to me about speaking at the event. I was honored but also slightly nervous about my first international trip.
My next step was to ask for help to prepare! I talked to my mentor who helped me through school, new my talk well and was an international traveler herself. Somehow, I asked if she would be willing to come with me to Budapest and she said yes! So now I have a support team including my mentor, my family at home and the conference team.
I hope you see where this story is going! Once I got involved with conference activities, I was quickly introduced to an IBM researcher named Kush Varshnay that was speaking on the same topic. We had a great conversation and would even work together later for a talk in New York.
I made it through the jetlag. Which you could definitely read on my face before the event was over. And I got to tour the beautiful city of Budapest at night with a local taxi driver. This felt like a capstone event for a journey I started in 2016 in San Francisco. But that's not the end of this story.
There are THREE amazing conferences taking place this month in the same city and you can participate VIRTUALLY. If you didn't know it, Budapest is surely rising on the tech scene and they have an amazingly friendly culture that makes for a great learning and networking environment. It will be an amazing experience for you and anyone you share this link with.
So check these conferences out:
Amuse (UX/Design) - October 5-8
Crunch (Data Engineering) - October 5-8
I promised details about how to get a FREE ticket. Please hurry and apply to this scholarship right away if you are eligible. And if you do apply send me a DM on Instagram telling me about your experience! REMEMBER: the deadline for the scholarship is SEPTEMER 19th!!
