By Deborah Kriegshauser
Well, the 2021 NCRA Conference & Expo will go down in history like no other. The record was broken with the number of students in attendance – over 170. That’s absolutely outstanding! Several meetings were held by the NCRA Student/Teacher Committee over the past year concerning the lineup of sessions to be offered during the student track of the Conference, and I think we ultimately did an outstanding job. What’s the true test for how well you did? When the working reporters start attending the student sessions instead of the sessions in the reporter track!
Of course, many thanks and shouts of praise need to be said for the many fine reporters who sponsored students to attend. Several students won Conference registrations through our activities during the NCRA Court Reporting & Captioning Week back in February. This year was definitely “The Year of the Student”!
If you missed our Conference lineup, we had the Steno Speed Dating session, which will stand as one of our most popular sessions ever. Students rotate tables every 10 minutes to visit with professionals stationed at each who represent a specific arena: Freelancer, official, Capitol Hill reporter, captioner, court reporting instructor, international reporter, or CART provider. We had a speaker who covers the Academy Awards in Los Angles, Calif. We had a seminar on practice tips, speedbuilding, training to become a captioner, practicing for cleaner and speedier writing, and camaraderie in the classroom. The students also were treated to a Meet and Greet with the NCRA Board, and a big highlight as well was when several reporters volunteered to take students to lunch Friday afternoon on the Las Vegas Strip and picked up the tab for them all.
So, students, we do love you and we’re all here for you! Take advantage of all the programs and services NCRA has to offer. You can also sign up on Facebook for the “Encouraging Court Reporting Students,” “Steno Briefs,” and other student-related groups. Make the effort to get involved. You will be rewarded. And mark your calendars to attend the 2022 NCRA Conference & Expo being held July 21-24 in Orlando, Fla.!
More stories from the 2021 NCRA Conference & Expo
Deborah Kriegshauser, FAPR, RMR, CRR, CLVS, CRC, is an official court reporter from Dallas, Texas. She also serves as chair of NCRA’s Student/Teacher Committee. She can be reached at deborah0841@att.net.
