Joint Western/Midwestern ITE Conference: It's Happening!

By Mr. Danny Nguyen posted 06-27-2014 01:05 AM

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Conference time is almost here - only a little over two days left! I'm very much looking forward to it based on how well Phoenix, Arizona worked out last year. I hear from Rhonda Young that the registered student count totals 106 people, and that's also great as well!

Currently my working itinerary is as follows. Some things may change because of volunteer assignments (which to my knowledge, haven't been publically issued yet - also if anyone reading this remembers "Form two queues please"...) and perhaps some on-the-spot decisions here and there.

Saturday, June 28:
Going to be up in the wee hours of the morning since that's when my flight out of Sacramento takes off. Hopefully I'll be able to get to the airport in time and avoid any shenanigans with the express TSA line.
Next stop is Denver's airport and perhaps lunch with a few of the good doctor's longtime friends. Maybe enough time for some sightseeing around Denver, too.
Then after that is the long drive to Rapid City from Denver. Of course we're going to stop at certain places along the way for photo ops, aside from either sleeping in the car or laughing our heads off from what's playing in the vehicle (decided to be stand-up comedy). Plans for later on in the evening are completely up in the air.

Sunday, June 29:
Going to be waking up early and attending mass with an associate at a nearby church - can't recall the name off the top of my head at the moment. Then some downtime until...
Kell Competition time! As stated previously, I expect the runner-up last year, U of Wyoming, to host this, but whatever happens happens. Of course I'm going to give it my all after last year's show.
As for student mentoring, I'm curious to see who I'll meet amongst the boy scouts and what will actually happen, as part of the whole transition to "opening up." The other hope is that we can bring that home and generate interest in children before they get to university level. Oh and in the name of gender equality... only boy scouts, no girl scouts?
Same plans for the Get Acquainted Social.

Monday, June 30:
Breakfast bright and early. Meal of champions and all that.
Keynote address! I wonder how the speaker up to bat will compare with the inspiring speaker from last year?
The first of the technical sessions, 1B: Leadership for the Future of Transportation. Actually looking forward to this as this blog has and will be discussing what the future potentially holds (no crystal ball either), and I know Danielle Scharf - she was in charge of the Kell Competition last year, so it's only proper I stop by and catch up. The other session that's a veeeeeery close second would be 1C, Alternative Intersection Design - I'm decently familiar with the DDI (Diverging Diamond Interchange) concept, having dealt with that for both my transportation systems elective and senior design project course.
Kickoff Luncheon!
The event that's the premier true purpose for the university chapter (more or less): the Student Traffic Bowl. I'm just about confirmed a team member this year as well as I managed to take the transportation systems elective at school (which also covers planning concepts), and the only one of the Sacramento State contingent to do so. We were in a similar situation last year and did alright, so I'm not too worried. This comes at cost of me missing the NACTO Street Design session (2A), as I bought a copy this past winter. Wait a minute, where did I put it....
Only reservation for Family Night out at Mt. Rushmore - I hope I won't be as jittery around fireworks as much as when I was a kid. Food should be great.

Tuesday, July 1:
Again, breakfast bright and early. May be light because...
I'm planning to attend the Student Leader Forum, if a past president is okay for being present. I hope to be able to participate as opposed to last year (the topic for another blog post later on, concerning the relevance of ITE in today's society).
Next session up for grabs: 5D, Moving Toward Zero Deaths. I know, I should be at 5B (Career Development for Students). I suppose this is a side effect from having a safety professor for the elective.
Lunch and then off to 6B, Media in Transportation Workshop. I'm opting for this since the presentation bit for my senior design project was arranged to be a public meeting in lieu of a 20-miunute presentation like most other years. The other session I'd consider would be 6A: Context Sensitive Case Study after reading the Walkable Urban Thoroughfares guide from ITE.
Then it's on to the only session for the timeslot, 7A: Traffic Controllers for Analysts. I'm also curious as to what goes on inside the sometimes-invisible traffic cabinet at the side of nearly every traffic intersection, as well as any improvements that can be made now or in the impending future. Only reservation I have is: will LaCroix D offer enough seating capacity?
To finish the day, there's the Mixer and the Awards Banquet. Pretty slim odds that I'll be able to appear in costume, but oh well.
Can't stay up late because need to pack it up and get my rest in for another early morning departure to make a 9am return flight from Denver again.

In short: no brakes on this happening train either! (Yes President Aspelin, you did use it in the correct context. "Happening" refers to something receiving a green signal and that it will occur. No brakes simply means there's very little chance of preventing it.) Hopefully the same also applies for the second annual Student Leadership Summit at Sacramento State, something we're absolutely sure to mention at the conference this year.

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