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By Robert Hadden Mole It’s been a terrific summer. Usually I don’t get out of the house much. However, with extra shifts at the group home, I was able to finance a trip to England and Wales with some friends. Everyone had a great time. We even ducked into Paris for a few days. And then, a short four weeks after my vacation, I was off to Denton, Texas. Sure enough, NAPCN ’98 ranks beside my vacation as one of this summer’s big events. At first, this may sound odd. Students often approach conferences with a bit of apprehension. They just don’t know what to expect. They aren’t sure if they will meet anyone who knows them or cares about what they think. And if they are presenting, they must worry about making the right impression. I must admit, I did experience a bit of nervous anticipation. I practiced my talk for what seemed like the 86th time and packed my suit and tie. I was relieved to find most of the conference-goers in golf shirts and shorts. I needn’t have worried at all. The conference turned out to be a series of pleasant experiences and meetings, one right after the other. My good fortune really began back in April, when I saw Ken Sewell’s notice for NAPCN ‘98 on the PCP list. I had done a piece of repertory grid research the previous year, and was looking for some constructive criticism on it. Perhaps I could get some help at the conference. Although I had already missed the deadline for paper presentations, I sent an email to Ken asking if there was room for an extra poster. I was pleasantly surprised when he wrote back informing me that not only was there room for a poster, but also a paper session, if I desired. I quickly drafted an outline of my talk and sent it along. Two weeks later, I received word that my paper had been accepted. In addition to this, Constructivist Chronicle editor Jon Raskin had announced that he was looking for scouts to compose write-ups on the conference. I communicated my interest, and he put me on the assignment. At the beginning of April, I was not even sure if I would be attending NAPCN. By May, I realized that I would not only be attending, but presenting at and writing on the conference as well! After this, my experience with NAPCN ’98 only got better. At the conference I had a reunion with my former advisor, Jack Adams-Webber. I hadn’t seen him in almost a year. He gave me a warm handshake and introduced me to some of the other conference-goers. Later on, he gave me a generous introduction for my presentation that still has me blushing. Like many students, presenting before an audience gives me the butterflies. For some reason, I feared my talk might go so badly that I would be banned from presenting at another NAPCN conference for the rest of my life. How wrong I was. To my surprise, over a dozen people attended. Furthermore, they seemed to be interested in what I was saying. Moreover, there was some stimulating discussion about my findings. If that wasn’t enough, both Rue Cromwell and Jack Adams-Webber approached me after the session and told me that the talk went very smoothly. So much for the butterflies. There could be a reason as to why my talk went so smoothly. Several hours before I was to speak, Michael Mahoney suggested in his keynote address that I relax and listen to my body. I did, and it told me that it was scared to death about my upcoming presentation. After Michael’s talk, the Texas Tech people captured me and took me to lunch at the Texas Pickup. Stephanie Harter gave me the same sagely advice as Michael: listen to your body, relish the nervous energy. I gave it a try, and it really does work. Attending many of the presentations, and listening in on the conversations at Franz Epting’s Philo Café, and Michael Mahoney’s Friday night social, I began to develop an appreciation for sharing headspace with people of a similar intellectual background. It is refreshing to converse on a topic without first having to define what constructs, repertory grids, and narratives are. I ran into Jerald Forster. I mentioned his name was familiar to me from recent reading, but couldn’t recall the exact article I had read. We went over our areas of interest and decided that it must have been from the career counseling work he has done. This is a growing interest of mine, and Jerald offered to correspond with me should I need any assistance in the future. During his keynote address, Michael Mahoney noted how he felt he was surrounded by wonderful people at the conference. What pleased him most about this was that he was included in that group. Michael’s words echoed my own thoughts. As I took my flight home and recollected the good times I had had with everyone, it dawned on me that others could be recollecting the same good times that included me! Michael also described the NAPCN conference as a “growing family reunion”. Again, this echoed my own thoughts. I felt as if I had been accepted into a special family unit; one in which I was counted as an important member. One word: Hoe-down! One more stroke of luck. On the final Sunday, I had a chance meeting with Jack over breakfast at Burger King, of all places. I always enjoy a good one-to-one with him. At Brock University I can remember going to his office with some seemingly insurmountable problem, only to emerge 20 minutes later ready to charge full speed ahead. Jack and I spent a solid hour doing the business of student and mentor over croissan’wiches and hash browns. At the meeting of the NAPCN steering committee, Jon Raskin summarized the newsletter’s two yearly issues: “The first describes how great the conference will be, and the second describes how great it was.” This so aptly described my experience with NAPCN ’98.
Clearly, NAPCN ’98
was an enjoyable and worthwhile experience. I would like to extend
warm thanks to all those who took part and made the conference the
marvelous time that it was. I would also like to extend special
thanks to Ken Sewell, for orchestrating the whole affair. His
efforts made a big difference to me, as I am sure they did to
others. I hope to see you all again at the next NAPCN conference.
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