A Recap of WRYMC (Try saying that five times fast)

SO WHAT'S WRYMC?

WRYMC is the Western Regional Younger Member Council and is a two day conference for younger members all across, you guessed it, the western region. This conference started as a business meeting in which delegates from each YMF chapter came together to discuss different resolutions that they wanted to bring to the attention of ASCE's Board of Directors. The event grew and now encompasses numerous networking events and workshops, leadership development opportunities, and technical tours. Though it reads like a standard conference, I assure you, WRYMC is anything but your typical professional event.

OK, I'M INTERESTED...

I'm glad you are! WRYMC is jam packed with activities; younger members are kept so busy with events and agenda items running from an early breakfast (~7AM) to late at night (~10PM or later). With the variety of programming, there's always something for someone. Even after attending three of these conferences, I've always walked away with a new appreciation for ASCE and felt re-energized to serve this community.

SO WHAT WERE THE HIGHLIGHTS?

I highly encourage you to ask any of the several people who have attended in the past because we're probably all bound to give you different answers. But since I voluntold myself to write this article, I guess you're hearing my favorites.

Though the conference takes place from Friday to Saturday, the hosting YMF plans pre-conference and post-conference socials taking place on Thursday and Sunday respectively. Both the pre-conference and post-conference tours are a great way to explore the host city, especially if you're a first time visitor. The pre-conference tour is especially valuable because it gives you extra time to meet new friends and start networking early. At this year's WRYMC, there were two choices for the pre-conference tour: the Lanikai Pillbox Hike with some beach time at Lanikai Beach or a day at the Lo'i (Hawaiiwan taro) farm. I attended the Lanikai Pillbox Hike and it was a gorgeous day to be outside. 

That evening, a few of us from the San Diego Chapter (and a new friend from the Las Vegas Chapter!) got dinner together before making our way to the Networking Social. The evening before the conference had three events going on: the Outreach Training Event, a Lu'au, and the Networking Social. Most of our chapter opted for the networking social and again, got a chance to make connections before the first workshop even began. 

I absolutely love this photo because everyone here is from a different chapter and we all met at an ASCE conference. I look forward to seeing these people every year!

The first official day of the conference is filled with workshops from morning to afternoon. The workshops we had were:

• ASCE Geographic Services Presentation. We got to meet and work with our fellow younger members and regional governors by playing a game with them! The game involved answering some general information questions about ASCE and working together to get the right answers. Winners receive a prize, so people definitely came to win.
• Engagement Session with YM and Students. Younger Members and Students worked together to draw a hand using string and a marker and answer the question, "If we were moving humanity to Mars, what should we prioritize?". This session gave us insight on different perspectives and how understanding different points of view can enhance our leadership skills.
• Region Breakouts. Students, younger members, and section professionals sat together to discuss different topics. The topic we spent a lot of time discussing involved the issues that affect our student chapters and how we can address them and how we (younger members and professionals) can support them. It was great to hear from our student leaders.
• Roundtable Sessions. My favorite workshop! In this workshop, each table is given a different topic that represents an aspect of YMF leadership. These include social media and marketing, outreach, board recruitment and retention, fundraising, etc. Participants sit at whatever topic they'd like to discuss. Every table usually ends up being a good mixture of representatives from different chapters and I always walk away learning something new. In this case, I asked the group, "Do you feel like Facebook is getting phased out? If so, what are you doing in lieu of it?" It was nice to know that other chapters felt like Facebook wasn't getting much use, and were transitioning to marketing more heavily on LinkedIn and Instagram. What are YOUR thoughts on this?
• Society Leaders Q&A
• ASCE Geographic Services Department Awards Presentation

These aren't your average workshops! Each workshop is extremely engaging, and you're constantly interacting with the people sitting right next to you. Pro-tip: sit next to people you don't know every opportunity you can! This is super intimidating the first time, but trust me when I say every person at WRYMC is friendly. Every person is a leader of their respective YMF and attends WRYMC with the intention of meeting new people and making new friends. Because of this, it's really easy to make a new connection. Also - trade business cards. Though Facebook and Instagram have made it easy to stay connected with people, I've found that having the actual business card helps me remember what industry my new connections are in -- and it helps with finding everyone's LinkedIn later!

At night on the first day, we had our section dinner. The San Diego Section Professionals, Younger Members, and Students got together at a local restaurant to get to know each other in a more casual setting.

After Section Dinner,  the Younger Members headed over to the Bar Crawl. Every year, the hosting chapter plans a bar crawl for 100+ participants. After a long day of workshops, people are definitely open to the idea of having a good time!

The definition of professionalism: being able to wake up for the 7:30am breakfast after being at the bar crawl. By this definition, you'll realize that all your peers are true professionals. Day two of workshops consists of the following:

• ASCE Joint Breakfast featuring a guest speaker about incorporating the Aloha Culture into our work lives.
• Breakout Sessions. In our break out session, Younger Members got to continue the Aloha conversation by talking about empathy and emotional intelligence. 
  
• Younger Member Business Meetings. WRYMC actually started from this business meeting. Delegates from different chapters recognized a need to meet once a year to discuss items that they wanted to bring to the ASCE Board of Directors' attention. From this sole meeting grew the two day conference that you're reading about now :) This meeting is ran formally using Robert's Rules of Order (which, if you've never been in a space that uses this, it's definitely quite the experience!). Any chapter can bring forth an agenda item or Resolution, and the Younger Members as a whole decide on the appropriate action. This year, the resolutions were: a request for the Board of Directors to provide official guidance on Younger Members transitioning to Section and open access to articles in ASCE Journals. The first resolution stems from a hot topic in the younger member community: the age restriction for younger members. Younger members are typically transitioned into Section members after they turn 35 years old. Though this has been the rule of thumb, there's not official guidance on these restrictions and how to transition members. This resolution is a request for the ASCE Board of Directors to take more of a firm stance on defining a younger member. The second resolution was a request to the Board of Directors to allow older journal articles to be freely accessed, while currently they are accessible for a fee. There is a third resolution, which is one that pops up every year: the location of the next WRYMC. In this agenda item, if a chapter is interested in hosting WRYMC in two years (in this case, 2021), they have to put together a bid (usually a presentation and video) on what makes their chapter the best candidate for hosting. It's a very exciting agenda item because chapters really dedicate a lot of heart and soul into their presentations. 
  
• Technical Tours. There are always a variety of different technical tours that people can attend! The ones we had this year.
  
  • ​Waihe`e Tunnel
    
  • Kunia Country Farms
    
  • Honolulu Rail Transit Project
    
  • Biki​

The banquet wraps up the official days of the conference. The banquet includes awards given to individuals and chapters as well as a lot of food, drinks, and dancing. It's a fantastic way to end the conference and to really hang out with your new connections one last time for this year!

On the Sunday after the banquet, there's a post conference activity. This year, it was a hike. It's my first time attending the post-conference activity and I was pleasantly surprised to have met a lot of people I didn't get to hang out with during the conference. Just goes to show how many attendees there really are!

IS IT ALWAYS IN HAWAII?

The location changes every year and younger members get to vote on the new location at the business meeting. With that said, I've found that the location could be anywhere; it's the people that really make the conference what it is. After multiple conferences, I still walk away with amazing memories. Next year, the conference will be in the Bay Area. With its close proximity, it's the perfect time to start planning to attend. Our YMF group can help you get there too! We offer stipends to those who would like to attend (if you're interested, please ask for more details).

Our San Diego chapter plans to help members feel more knowledgeable about opportunities like WRYMC and to encourage more of our members to attend these rewarding events. What can we do to achieve this? Let us know your suggestions!

aloha,

Stephanie Catubig
Website Chair​