I can't believe that it has been over a month since we all met up in Seattle. What a truly amazing experience for students like myself to be introduced to the profession and the great professionals that make it up. The ICMA conference was a great learning experience that combined together opportunities to learn through the lectures and keynotes with opportunities to learn through conversations and connecting with city managers and administrators from all accross the country.

As I look towards my future following the completion of my MPA degree from the University of Kansas I think about the responsibility and the challenges that are facing local governments. Questions about technological developments, about funding, about so many different things and I realize that while these are very big questions, there are people all accross the country working on them and experimenting on ways to address them in their own communities.

I am already looking forward to the next ICMA conference in Kansas City as a chance to meet up with the professionals that I met in Seattle again and a chance to hear about what everyone has been up to during this year. I am currently in my first year of the KU MPA program and so I had only a small snapshot of the profession before I went to Seattle. Every single day working and learning brings new insights and new knowledge about this profession and I look forward to sharing my own experiences and my own challenges that I come accross this year with the people I meet and reconnect with next year.