Monthly Monitor: SSWR Conference 2022 Announcements + Events for Doctoral Students
SSWR Conference 2022
Announcements, Events, + Updates for Doctoral Students
In this issue, we compiled some articles from previous newsletters as well as added new pieces on announcements, events, & updates for the 2022 SSWR Conference for doctoral students. The following pieces are including in this issue:
History of Doctoral Student Committee (DSC)
Applications Open! Apply to be on the DSC for 2022-2023!
What I Wish I Would’ve Known as a First-Time Conference Attendee
SSWR New Attendee Program
SSWR DSC Doctoral Student Social Hour
SSWR DSC Virtual Happy Hour
SSWR Coffee With a Scholar
History of Doctoral Student Committee (DSC)
By: DSC Chair Alicia Mendez
The SSWR Doctoral Student Committee (DSC) began as a task force in 2014. In 2018, it became an official committee of SSWR. It is chaired by a Doctoral Student Member at Large. This means that the DSC Chair is also a member the SSWR Board of Directors. Every year SSWR holds an election. Board members can be nominated or self-nominate and must be members of SSWR. The Doctoral Student Member at Large has a tenure of two years. All other Board members serve the SSWR Board for three years. More details about the SSWR Board and its Bylaws can be found here: https://secure.sswr.org/about-sswr/bylaws/.
The DSC was created to ensure that doctoral students’ needs, interests, and priorities are accurately reflected in SSWR doctoral student programming. It is currently comprised of 23 members. You can find out more about our members here: http://www.sswrdoc.com/committee-members. Said plainly, the DSC functions as a national doctoral student association (DSA) or graduate student committee, akin to those embedded in your schools of social worker and/or graduate programs. While the DSC’s function is rooted within complementing SSWR conference activities, each year the DSC has focused on doing more, year-round, for doctoral students.
Currently the DSC includes three subcommittees: Mentoring, Conference, and Communications. Each subcommittee has its own Chair and those Chairs along with the Doctoral Student at Large (DSC Chair) make up the DSC Leadership Committee. The Mentoring Subcommittee annually creates the Coffee with a Scholar Program. The Conference Subcommittee is responsible for running the Doctoral Student Panel (normally also a luncheon) and the New Attendee Program. The Communications Subcommittee works on the monthly newsletter and also runs all our social media and website.
As the programs run by the have become more institutionalized the DSC has also set its sights on creating more content and opportunities outside of the conference to meet students’ needs and interests with an emphasis on creating more community. For example, the DSC recently hosted the Post-Election Detox, a meeting designed to create community among doctoral students as we decompress from the election and begin refocusing on our ongoing political engagement. The DSC is also going to start hosting monthly writing retreats. The first will be the first week of January 2021 and its theme is Preparation for SSWR. All social work doctoral students are encouraged to join and we will be focusing on SSWR prep, though any work can be done during the retreat. Mark your calendars: we will also host a Virtual Happy Hour January 19th, 2021 SSWR, more details to come.
On behalf of the DSC, we wholeheartedly mean it when we request and encourage feedback so please reach out to us via our website or our Facebook page SSWR Doctoral Student Members. Each member on the DSC is dedicated to creating meaningful ways for you to engage with us, the SSWR conference, and one another. We hope that as we add new opportunities to build community, you will join and learn with us.
Apply to be on the SSWR DSC for 2022-2023!
Please consider applying to the SSWR DSC for the 2022-2023 academic year! These positions consist of an average of 4-5 hours a month of service. The tasks of the DSC include working with a team of students across the nation to create newsletters and social media content for doctoral students, put together conference related student programming (coffee with a scholar, new attendee programming, etc.), and to develop year round mentoring programming.
Click here to access doctoral student applications starting on Jan 1, 2022!
What I Wish I Would’ve Known as a First-Time Conference Attendee
Want more tips on attending the SSWR Conference? Here’s some advice from our Doctoral Student Committee members:
Going to SSWR for the first time, you might feel like you need to be in a session every hour! Make sure to allow time for impromptu meetings where other students or mentors might introduce you to folks in your research area.
My first SSWR conference was in 2021; thus, my experience and insight come from attending a virtual conference. If you plan to attend SSWR this year virtually, these tidbits are for you. I wish I had realized how much time I needed to allocate for planning for the conference ahead of time. A few weeks before the conference, I recommend going through all the presentations and adding them to your work calendar. You can add the link, notes, and information about the speakers. This way, when the conference week arrives, you will be able to attend each session seamlessly. You will also be able to see what other openings you have in your calendar for setting up informal meetings with presenters and for networking.
What I wish I knew about attending the SSWR Conference was that we are able to obtain CEUs while attending. You will need to fill out a form. But it's convenient because you are already attending events, you might as well obtain CEUs while you're doing it.
I wish I would’ve known how eclectic the conference would be. So many different research topics and areas. I like its blend of interactive workshops and paper presentations. Be prepared for an experience where you’ll get to share and exchange diverse perspectives and insights.
I wish I knew how much psychological energy a virtual conference takes. I wish I had protected my time in between sessions and put my day-to-day work on hold until after the conference.
Conferences are fun. Relax and enjoy the intellectual community, creativity, and collaboration. Even though it can be hard, leave the imposter feelings behind. You are “in the room where it happens,” and you are still learning… you have nothing to prove.
Thanks for Signing Up for the SSWR New Attendee Program
Are you attending SSWR for the first time in-person in 2022? Have you attended SSWR in the past and want to provide support to new conference attendees? If so, the SSWR DSC invites current and new SSWR student members to sign up for the New Attendee Program. The purpose of the program is to offer conference navigation support and peer mentorship to PhD students attending the SSWR conference for the first time. Student mentors and new attendees talk about topics including which events to go to, navigating an online conference, expectations of the annual conference, research interests, and experiences as a doctoral student.
If you are interested in serving as a mentor or mentee for the program, the process is simple. While sign-ups closed on December 31st, 2021, we will notify you of your match as we get closer to the conference. After that, connect via email before the conference and meet in-person during the conference! Space is limited and we will match on a first-come, first-serve basis. We will do our best to match as many mentors/mentees as possible.
Here are what some past attendees and mentors have said about the New Attendee Program:
“I loved it. It made my SSWR experience so worthwhile.” -New attendee SSWR 2020
“I signed up to orient to SSWR and meet other doctoral students.” -New attendee SSWR 2021
“I signed up to learn from other advanced students who have been there before.” -New attendee SSWR 2021
“I signed up to get more comfortable with the SSWR environment, network and make connections in the field, and understand more of the ‘unwritten’ rules about conferences.” -New attendee SSWR 2020
“I signed up because I felt I could have used something like that my first time at the conference.” -Student mentor SSWR 2020
“Because my first conference attendance was a little awkward, and I thought I could help someone else have a less awkward/isolating first experience.” -Student mentor SSWR 2021
Join Us! SSWR DSC Doctoral Student Social Hour
Location: Conference Hotel Breakout Room
At the 25th Annual Conference for the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) in 2021, the SSWR Doctoral Student Committee (DSC) held the first student-only conference kickoff event. The first-time event, which was held virtually, was attended by over 50 social work doctoral students from programs across the U.S. and internationally. The purpose of the event was to kick off the SSWR conference, and provide a safe and inclusive virtual space for doctoral students to connect with peers and build community while navigating the immense challenges of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, at the 26th Annual SSWR conference in Washington, DC, the DSC is excited to invite doctoral students to the Doctoral Student Social Hour on Thursday, January 13, 2022 from 7:30pm-8:30pm. This student-only event will be held in-person at the conference hotel and will be an informal time for doctoral students to connect with each other and build community throughout the conference. If you are planning to attend SSWR 2022, please RSVP to the Doctoral Student Social Hour when you register for the conference.
Finally, in the spirit of collaboration and fun, please add music suggestions to our Spotify playlist. We look forward to seeing everyone in Washington, DC in January!
Join Us Virtually!
With rapid changing COVID19 updates, Tasha and Melanie (DSC Members) will be hosting a virtual doctoral student happy hour! We are excited to connect with you virtually!
Sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/docstudenthh
Thank You for Signing Up for SSWR Coffee With a Scholar
Mentoring Opportunity via Coffee with a Scholar is Back for 2022!
Each year, the DSC coordinates Coffee with a Scholar to coincide with the annual SSWR conference. This is a unique opportunity for SSWR doctoral student members to connect with a researcher outside of their usual networks. Doctoral students can sign up for Coffee with a Scholar when they register for SSWR.
Sign ups closed in December of 2021, and we look forward to sending you coffee match!
You can boost our messages about Coffee with a Scholar on social media. We will be sharing updates via the DSC Facebook page. You can also check out #CoffeeWithAScholar on Twitter for future posts.
If you have any questions about Coffee With A Scholar, feel free to email SSWRdoc@gmail.com. One of the committee members will respond to you.
What past mentees have had to say:
“I just really think I got a great match. I knew it was a great match as soon as you told me. I honestly probably should have been forging that relationship outside of this program, but it hadn't necessarily occurred to me to do so, so I'm grateful that the program brought us together!”
“I enjoyed talking with my assigned mentor- he shared career advice, personal reflections on his own research, teaching, career decisions; shared some helpful tips on how to frame my research/interests in interview settings and to talk about the future path I hope my research will take.”
