We are just six weeks away from the largest park and state conference in the country happening in Chicago, January 19-21, the IAPD/IPRA Soaring to New Heights Conference. We have student scholarships available- the deadline for these scholarships is next week, Friday, December 16.
If you are interested, there are ways to offset expenses to make conference more affordable. These are the steps you should take:
1.We would recommend that you register for conference at the student rate of $110. Registration is at this link: http://www.ilparksconference.com/registration2/
2.Then, sign up to be a student volunteer at conference and volunteer five hours during your time at the event. The student volunteer sign up is at https://ilipra.memberclicks.net/assets/Foundation/2017%20student%20volunteer%20form.pdf .If you volunteer your full commitment, you will be reimbursed fully for the $110 within six weeks of conference.
3.If you sign up for a scholarship (again, deadline is next week) you can receive additional funds to offset the rest of your travel expenses such as hotel and gas. There are a limited number of scholarships and the amount varies, but it is often $200 or more per person. The scholarship application is here: https://ilipra.memberclicks.net/scholarship-opportunities?servId=5823 You will need to login as a member to gain access- if you are not already a member, student membership is free.
4.Many students choose to offset costs further by sharing a hotel room with another student in their group, carpooling, or taking Amtrak to the conference from outside the Chicago area.
5.Finally, if you are able to join us for conference, we have several unique opportunities just for students to learn new skills and advance their careers including socials for several Illinois colleges and universities where current students and alumni get together to grow their professional network. We also have a program called “Sponsor a Student” which matches up students with professionals at the Awards Luncheon, which is free only for students, to allow you to meet high level professionals in the field and make more connections. Students have found these opportunities helpful for when they are later looking for internship and employment opportunities. To sign up for Sponsor a Student, select it on your conference registration form.
