We recently had the good fortune of attending the 2002 winter meeting of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers in Atlantic City. As college seniors at RPI, our expectations were low prior to the convention. Because many of those in attendance are usually corporate employees, we expected to be easily lost in the ASHRAE convention’s events. However, this didn’t turn out to be the case.
Professor Joseph Ting taught us the value of communication and the importance of treating people properly and with respect in his class. These values were definitely evident in the introductions given during the welcoming party and president’s luncheon.
The members of ASHRAE were friendly and encouraged us to have a good time and to enjoy the experience. Such a comfortable atmosphere permitted us to openly ask questions and promoted our learning at the AHR Expo and in more social scenes, such as corporate hospitality suites. While listening to seminars, convention speakers, and the thoughts of ASHRAE President Bill Coadgave, we gained a better sense of business practices and, equally as important, effective speaking techniques.
The technical tour of the old Atlantic City convention center was informative as well as entertaining. We felt very lucky to be students attending such a pleasant and enjoyable conference.
In addition to attending the aforementioned events, we took part in a poster session, a student breakfast, and a panel discussion during our time at the convention. The poster session involved a first-hand look at the winning projects in a design competition. Students representing the honored schools were around to answer questions about their projects. During the panel discussions, ASHRAE members responded to student questions about such topics as salary expectations and gender and racial issues.
At breakfast, the conference directors took a role call of all of the participating universities. Many of the schools in attendance demonstrated their enthusiasm by shouting and clapping. Some even came prepared with cheers. Luckily for us, we were the first school to be announced. With only two people representing Rensselaer, we used our best effort in assuming the challenge of setting the tone for everyone else.
Despite the fact that it was early in the morning for many of us college students, we were all able to make our presence known at the adjacent Regions Council meeting. It was quite a presence indeed; we learned that this year’s student attendance was unrivaled by previous years. We felt very satisfied to be a part of such an enthusiastic group of students and to be respected by the members of ASHRAE, who all asserted us to be the future of the ASHRAE.
