What to Expect at NACAC 2024: Key Insights and Trends

In this episode of FYI we dive in deep with NACAC’s Chief Experience Officer, Shantel Goodman-Luckett, to talk about what’s new and what to expect at the 2024 NACAC Conference in Los Angeles.

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Who is Shantel Goodman-Luckett?

Shantel is a career experience crafter, most recently serving as the Chief Experience Officer for the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC).

In this Episode

Shantel Goodman-Luckett, Chief Experience Officer for the National Association for College Admission Counseling, or NACAC, joins FYI host Gil Rogers to talk about the upcoming NACAC National Conference in Los Angeles, including highlights for first-time attendees and new features for seasoned participants. 

Shantel shares insights on planning during the pandemic, the significance of the conference’s theme ‘The Courage Within,’ and special events like Magic Johnson’s upcoming keynote speech. 

The conversation also covers the conference’s extensive educational sessions and opportunities for ongoing involvement with NACAC beyond the annual event, numbers of new vendors and attendees to expect. Get an inside preview of the conference here first.

Listen to FYI on your favorite podcast platform!

Episode Transcript

An Inside Look at NACAC 2024 with Shantel Goodman-Luckett

Publishing Date: September 17, 2024

[00:00:00] Gil: Welcome back to FYI, the For Your Institution Podcast, presented by Mongoose. I’m your host, Gil Rogers. And today, I sit down with Shantel Goodman-Luckett, Chief Experience Officer for the National Association for College Admission Counseling, or NACAC, for short. We discuss the upcoming NACAC National Conference in Los Angeles, California and what first-time visitors can expect, as well as surprises for some returning attendees. Let’s listen in.

Hey, Shantel, how are you?

[00:00:35] Shantel: I’m doing great, Gil. How are you doing today?

[00:00:38] Gil: I’m doing lovely. I’m looking forward to heading out to LA here in a little bit. I hear you and your team are planning a little bit of a shindig, is that right?

[00:00:46] Shantel: Yeah, a little event, just a little, a little conference.

[00:00:50] Gil: Small gathering of friends, right?

[00:00:52] Shantel: Yes, exactly.

[00:00:55] Gil: So, I’m excited to have you on. You know, obviously, for our listeners of this podcast, we’re predominantly admissions, enrollment management folks. So, a lot of the folks who listen to this podcast will be in LA for the NACAC conference here in a couple of weeks.

So, I wanted to have you on, one, to get to meet you virtually in person and then in person in a couple of weeks, but two, to also give everyone a preview of what to expect from the 2024 NACAC Conference. But, before we hop into the logistics and the planning and the fun and all that sort of stuff, I would love for the folks who might not know you yet, or have been connected with you yet, who are listening to this podcast or watching us on YouTube, to get to know you a little bit. So, tell us your story. How did you get to NACAC? What’s your definition of your role? What you do, how you got there, all that sort of fun stuff.

[00:01:41] Shantel: Absolutely. I’d be happy to. So, I am the Chief Experience Officer with NACAC. I joined the organization, I believe it was February of 2021. So, we were still very much in the pandemic phase. And I basically oversee the membership experience, our events and meetings, including conference and our college fairs and other convenings, sales and marketing, and global engagement.

[00:02:11] Gil: Awesome. And so, prior to NACAC, what brought you to NACAC and brought you to this experience?

[00:02:16] Shantel: Yes, so, I’m going to tell you where I went to college because we’re NACAC. So, when I finished up undergrad at Virginia Commonwealth University—go, Rams—in Richmond, Virginia, I got my first job out of college, actually, with the Washington Post. And I was a sales assistant. And so, I worked my way up and eventually I was there for a number of years at the Post Print.

And then I transitioned over to digital because I wanted to get into the dot-com space. So, I started working for WashingtonPost.com in marketing roles, consumer marketing roles, and product management. So, that was really exciting. I went from the Washington Post, then, to Marriott International. So, I worked at Marriott Corporate in digital marketing.

So, I was in digital marketing for the Courtyard brand for a number of years. And then, from there, I transitioned into the nonprofit association space and I spent a number of years with the Global Business Travel Association based right here in D.C. All the positions or roles I’ve been here in D.C. area, or in the DMV, as we like to call it. But I was there in a marketing capacity. By the time I left, I became senior vice president of global marketing and research.

And then it was interesting because we were in the heart of the pandemic. And I saw the chief experience officer role. My daughter had just been accepted into college. And so, I’m like, “Oh, my god, this is…” I just felt so passionate about this role because I’d already worked in membership and just worked across the organization and other roles. And so, yeah, I ended up here at NACAC, and I love it. I absolutely love this role.

[00:04:10] Gil: Well, and it’s got to be a rewarding experience, having come on during the throes of the pandemic when, I remember, we were already clicking recorders telling you about how I’ve been going to the NACAC Conference since… not the last time I was in Baltimore, but the time before that. And so, I’ve been around long enough that I’ve been going to the conference where we’re repeating cities.

So, it’s just the vibe and the culture, and that’s a big part of why people go to the NACAC conferences, for the community and the shared experience that everyone in this profession has. And when, you know, it’s a virtual option, or even the year everybody’s masking and sitting in every sixth chair in a presentation room to maintain social distancing, it’s hard to… obviously, we’re doing all the right things, but the right things is hard. It’s not the same feel and the same experience.

[00:05:02] Shantel: Yeah. No, absolutely. I mean, so I started in February of 2021. And so, the team was in the midst of planning for Seattle. And so, we ended up, that ended up being a hybrid conference, but we still had well over 3,000 folks show up in person, which we were floored, and we had over 1,000 people virtually.

And so, I would say that Houston, which was the year after that, is where it just, it really felt like, “Okay, we’re back.”

[00:05:34] Gil: We’re back.

[00:05:35] Shantel: Folks, we’re back. Folks, really, I mean, just clamoring to just see each other in person. And David Hawkins, who I know you know, he told me to tell you hello, by the way.

[00:05:46] Gil: Hi, David.

[00:05:46] Shantel: You know, he said to me, he said this one thing about the NACAC Conference and just our community, our membership, they are huggers. Like, they are… like, people are going to be hugging you that you have not met yet. But you’ve emailed with them, so there’s a connection. And so, that’s exactly what happened in Houston. And we’ve just, you know, grown year after year. And last year, being in Baltimore, was our third largest NACAC Conference, which is pretty, pretty phenomenal.

[00:06:18] Gil: We single-handedly doubled the population of Baltimore. No, I’m just kidding. All the love to Baltimore. We love Baltimore.

[00:06:24] Shantel: Love, love Baltimore, yes.

[00:06:25] Gil: Yeah. And I’m with you. And I think part of that is you said the in-person experience is, it’s not unique to higher education, but I feel like it is uniquely critical to higher education when it comes to being a professional in that space.

You see even things like college fairs, right? Like, I feel like one of the things that made, and I say this all the time in various different circles, but what saved the college fair, in a lot of respects, was a lot of the virtual college fairs that people were doing during COVID that were not necessarily the best experience on either end.

And we learned that, even at an in-person college fair, if it’s not a well-attended fair, bad timing, whatever, you still get to turn to the right, turn to the left, and talk to your friends, at least about how bad the fair is, but at most about what’s going on at your offices and networking and talking about all these different opportunities, next professional development opportunity, what conferences you’re going to. You don’t get those types of experiences in these virtual forums.

So, it’s, obviously, virtual as a great place. I worked at a virtual events company during the height of COVID. So, I understand how we can, kind of, fit in a lot of these different places. Obviously, we’re connecting for the first time virtually. And we’ll see each other in a couple of weeks and hug and say hi, right?

[00:07:40] Shantel: We’ll share on that, exactly.

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[00:08:25] Gil: So, let’s look back a little bit on how we’ve, kind of, made through the COVID process and the post-COVID era and those sorts of things. Now, we’re into a new era of NACAC, right? We have… leadership has changed over the past couple of years. We have been in this role over the past couple of years, right? We’ll say three or four years is a new era, relative to the length of time the association has been around.

And so, I’m sure there are, you know, you’ve got two, kind of, camps when it comes to NACAC attendees, right? You’ve got the people who have been going for years and are coming back because it’s something they look forward to. It’s on their calendar. They do it every year. And then you’re going to have the new people who are coming for the first time, right? And so, I’d love to first talk to and talk about the what those returners should be expecting, that’s new, different, unique, right, something that, like, that they might not have experienced before at a NACAC conference, because I’m sure you’ve been working on a lot of different types of opportunities for engagement and making the experience the best it can possibly be. So, what are some of the things that have evolved or that will be evolving when it comes to the conference being in LA?

[00:09:34] Shantel: Yeah, I think, first and foremost, it’s one of the things that the attendees are really looking forward to is what is happening on the main stage at conference. And I would say, this year, we are really excited. On Thursday, we have Magic Johnson, who we’re really excited about, who’s going to just take us through his leadership journey.

I’m going to, I’m going to back up a little bit. So, the theme this year, which, kind of, drives a lot of what we do and you’ll hear an echo throughout the conference is the courage within. So, I wanted to say that, and I also wanted to mention, too, that in terms of my background, there’s the sales and the marketing piece, but there’s definitely service and hospitality.

So, myself and my team really want to make all attendees feel special, feel seen, feel heard, but really feel good. A couple years ago, maybe it was Houston, I was standing at the bar, at the closing reception, speaking to a complete stranger, who I’d never met before. And I said, “Did you have a great experience?” And he said, “The hospitality at this conference was off the charts.” And, like, I honestly teared up because that was for me, personally, and I know my events and meetings team, that’s what we wanted to deliver, was we wanted folks to feel again special, seen, and just good about making the investment coming to the conference.

So, I wanted to say that, but I think our main stages, one word that I think I’ll be using is intentionality, because we just… this is not a rinse and repeat conference in any way. So, on the main stage, I mentioned Magic Johnson, who is, I don’t remember the last time NACAC has had a keynote speaker on the main stage, but they will this year with him. And he is going to take the first 30 minutes of his time with us and just walk us through his leadership journey.

And I think, given all that is happening, when you think about the theme, he epitomizes the courage within, I think folks will want to hear what he has to say. And then the latter part of his time with us, he will sit down and have a conversation with our CEO, Angel Pérez. So, we’re really, really, excited about that.

I would say again, the word, “intentionality,” these education sessions, obviously, are submitted by our members, but in terms of the review of the sessions, the session selections, our members are part of those conversations as well. NACAC doesn’t do that in a bubble. And so, we really listened to our members, and there are some sessions that are, kind of, backed by popular demand, but we’re going to be talking about NCAA student athletes and international education, test optional, the FAFSA, which the FAFSA and mental health, which is huge, right? That’s a huge topic for everybody. And self-care. And also, a topic that has been coming up a lot is retaining and advancing talented staff. So, those are just a few of the popular topics that I just wanted to mention. But there’s going to be over nearly 120 education sessions. It’s fantastic. We did our best to create as many education session blocks as possible, but we’ve got 370 inspiring speakers who folks will hear from throughout those ed sessions. So, that’s exciting.

The other thing I wanted to mention was, and this is new, is On Demand. So, last year, we, kind of, we threw it in, and I made that announcement on stage last year, but On Demand is now part of registration. So, when somebody registers to attend the NACAC conference, On Demand is included in your registration. And what that gives you is the PowerPoint presentations that are delivered during the ed sessions, as well as the audio overlay for the eligible conference sessions. So, I just wanted to share that as well because I think that’s really important.

There are one or two sessions, especially, the Department of Education, for example, is doing a session that we may not be able to record. But all other sessions should be available very shortly after conference.

[00:14:13] Gil: I think that’s a great value-add for tech biz is, and you think about it from an investment perspective, you effectively doubled everyone’s investment because now they have access to all the sessions that they couldn’t go to if they went to a session, multiple sessions at the same time, they had to make a hard choice. They have the access to that content that they otherwise wouldn’t have gotten, right? And so, and I feel like, from as a past just general attendee, you have to prioritize your time. And when teams come, it’s like, “Well, you’re going to go to this session, you’re going to go to this session, and I’m going to go to this session,” so that we’re not all in the same place. We can all bring it back together.

And you can still do that. And you probably still should do that, so, you’re not just, like, snickering and joking around in the back with your friends. But you’ve got the opportunity now to get that insight firsthand. And this is a, I feel like, it’s just a byproduct of the changes that we had to make during COVID having relevancy here is this content being accessible and available, right?

[00:15:12] Shantel: Absolutely. No, absolutely. I also wanted to mention just the expo floor, which is always bustling during our conference, but we have, for the first time ever, we have, I believe, over 80 first-time exhibitors, which I think is fantastic and will really benefit our attendees. So, so, our attendees will get to engage and get in front of these first-time exhibitors who want to show off their products and services to help our attendees do their jobs better. We have close to 250 exhibiting organizations, and folks are still reaching out to get a booth, which is, again, just fantastic. We’re really excited about that.

[00:15:59] Gil: Yeah. And so, and I love that point around the 80 first-time exhibitors because, you know, my, my day job outside of hosting a podcast, I consult and support with ed tech startups on ensuring that they are building resources and programs that support student success first, and also, of course, institutional outcomes, because you got to, you got to be able to do both if you want to work in this space as a service provider.

And to hear, that’s the first time I’ve heard that there are 80 first-time exhibitors, which says to me that there is no shortage of innovation in the space and there’s no shortage of opportunity to really look at ways to rethink the way that we’re supporting and engaging students, which is phenomenal.

And I feel like, to give NACAC a little bit of a big pat on the back, companies know that this is the space they need to be at to be able to be in front of the right people who can leverage those resources on their campuses.

[00:16:59] Shantel: Yeah. We’re really excited about that. And then, speaking of 80, I can’t believe I didn’t leave with this. This is our 80th conference. This is our 80th NACAC conference, which is…

[00:17:11] Gil: And that’s why there’s 80 first-time exhibitors. They did it on purpose.

[00:17:14] Shantel: There you go.

[00:17:15] Gil: That’s fantastic. Well, happy birthday, NACAC. We’ll have a, we’ll get a cake. And that’s just, yeah, that speaks to the longevity of the association, right, and just the importance of the association in this space.

I was at a conference. This was actually the Seattle conference. I did the interviewed in the exhibit hall thing, and I was talking about, this is the place where everybody knows they need to be, right? And it’s just a… you can ask people about a lot of other conferences, and they say, “Oh, well, maybe next time I’ll go,” or, “I go every other year to that one.” This is the one that people put on their calendar and say, “I’m going to be there this year.”

And so, for the first-timers who are coming, right, I think that, after this conference, they’ll be the ones that are putting it on their calendar every year. But it can be a little overwhelming. You say 250 exhibitors, you can say 370 speakers, you say all these different workshops. That’s a lot, right? And it’s a good thing that it’s a lot. But for a first-timer, it can be a little overwhelming, right? And so, for those first-time attendees, what are some tips that you would give to them to maximize their opportunity without getting completely overwhelmed?

[00:18:21] Shantel: Yeah, that’s a really great question. I’d say, first and foremost, don’t want to download the mobile app. Make sure you have the mobile app handy. But, pace yourself. Like, there’s no way you’re going to take in every single thing that’s happening at conference. And I think the desire for first-timers is, often, “I don’t want to miss anything.” But that’s everybody’s desire, right, is to be a part of everything. And you simply… it’s difficult to do that.

So, I would say, pace yourself, focus on some key areas of interest, and then remain engaged in other opportunities that are going to be happening with NACAC post-conference. Just know that the conversation doesn’t start and stop at conference. It’s going to continue throughout the year into 2025, etc. But you just, you don’t have to do everything at one time. You can’t. 

So, that’s the first thing. And I would say, secondly, just embracing the community, because I know it can be overwhelming. And I’ve heard that from people. It’s just, there’s so many people. It is small, though. The higher ed community is, it’s actually really pretty small. And I think that this is just an opportunity to just make connections, as many connections as you can.

And then, again, post-conference, hold on to those connections, right? Do the work to reach out to people that you met. Schedule virtual coffees and things like that.

And then, lastly, I think, just as a first-timer, just valuing your presence. Because whether this is your first conference or this is your 25th conference, your presence is valuable and you do have something to offer. You do have something value to add. Everybody is here to improve. Even people that have been around for 20-plus years. So, just don’t forget that, that your presence means something.

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[00:21:15] Gil: You mentioned, I would love for you to expand a little bit. This is a little bit of a curveball, the conversation, but it’s about opportunities to engage with NACAC after conference, right? There are many folks out there. I think that their interaction with NACAC annually is the conference. And then maybe they go to a national college fair here or there. But for many, that might be it, right? Because the… this giant conference that is a small community but also is really big is a big time commitment and a resource for them.

But there are other resources, right? And there are other things that they should be leveraging and taking advantage of. So, for those that might not be aware, right, of other programs post-conference, you know, other workshops and programs and webinars and those sorts of things, what are some other areas that people can take advantage of from NACAC as a resource?

[00:22:02] Shantel: Yeah, I mean, we have several ad hoc committees throughout the year. There are new… it could be a certificate program that we want to kick off. But also, I would love for folks to reach out to NACAC when they have ideas. Chances are we have the same idea. I think, sometimes, our challenge is capacity, right? Capacity to build out those ideas and develop the strategies. It’s not that we don’t want to. Oftentimes, it’s we don’t have the capacity. So, we welcome our members to reach out to us and say, “Hey, there is a need for X.” Because we’ll… I mean, we’ll put you to work, but we’d love to hear from our members.

And again, I think we’re probably all thinking the same thing about things, maybe new education and training programming. Trust me, I know this is something David and his team are thinking about all the time. But when you look around the office and it’s like you only have limited capacity, right?

So, I would say, just, if you’re interested in volunteering in any capacity, reach out to NACAC. If you’re interested in, again, being part of a committee or joining a SIG group, I would say, is, like, that’s a good place to start, is joining one of our SIG groups. We have over, how many SIGs do we have? I believe, now, we have 33 SIGs. 23 are scheduled to host meetings at conference. So, this is a great way to promote intersectionality across the SIGs. So, please, come to those SIG meetings. They’re not private meetings. They’re open to attendees. But post-conference, reach out to the SIG leaders, the chairs, and join the SIG groups. That’s a really great way to become a part of, well, NACAC community. And they’re growing every day.

[00:24:05] Gil: Absolutely. And I just pulled up the page on NACAC’s website, and we’ll put a link directly to it in the episode notes for our listeners so you can get a peek at what some of those groups are, as well as the contact information for the chairs for those groups, and to get in touch with them so that you can get involved.

I think the theme of that is, ask not what NACAC can do for you, but what you can do for NACAC, in a lot of respects, right? There are so many ways to get involved. I think people sometimes just don’t realize how many opportunities there are to be a part of making a difference for specific groups that you want to support, right, and be a part of the overall community. And because NACAC is a large group, but it’s also a small community, and that’s a unique combination that you don’t get at a lot of places, which means that, if you want to make an impact, you can — you just got to step up and volunteer.

[00:24:57] Shantel: Exactly. And I’m also going to plug the affiliates. We have 23 affiliates, and so join your local affiliate.

[00:25:04] Gil: I was going to say, big ups to NEACAC. I’m in Maine. So, we’ll say hi to the NEACAC folks. Yeah, Mongoose is based in Buffalo. So, NYSACAC, we’ll say hi to you as well, right. I think a lot of change is local, right? And being a part of your local regional affiliate, for sure, is a great way for people to, to get involved in a more accessible way, too, right? Because you don’t have to travel all over the country to be a part of your regional affiliate.

[00:25:30] Shantel: I totally agree. Yeah, that’s it. That’s a great… and it’s also a great pathway into NACAC. Oh, yeah. No, definitely.

[00:25:37] Gil: Yeah, we had Carlos Cano, who’s really big in the New Jersey ACAC, on the podcast last season. And he’s a very big advocate and supporter. He still has his NJACAC Championship belt in the background of his office because they have a championship belt they pass around to people and whatnot.

So, it’s fun. It’s fun, like, New England, it’s all about the number of ribbons you have on your name badge when you’re walking around the conference. Like, there’s all those, these different fun cultural things that each regional affiliate has, that it’s fun to be a part of.

So, Shantel, I appreciate you taking the time to be here today and to share a little bit about what’s new and what to expect, how to get the most out of the NACAC conference. I’ll give you the last word for folks that want to get in touch with you, keep this conversation going, obviously, come find you at the conference and give you a big hug. What are the best places for people to find you, stay in touch, and get connected?

[00:26:32] Shantel: So, at conference, on site, I’ll be the woman walking around with my hair on fire. No, I’m just joking.

[00:26:38] Gil: You’re not doing it right if you’re not, so it’s fine.

[00:26:40] Shantel: No, I will be around and, you know, come to… I invite you to come to the membership meeting, which is Saturday morning. It’s really pretty early. I think it’s at 8:00 a.m., but come, I’ll be there. I’ll be at all the main stages. I’ll be around the NACAC booth. That’s another, like, if folks are like, “How do I get involved?” Go to the NACAC booths and ask the NACAC staff person who’s there.

Oh, I just wanted to mention, too, because this is different. Typically, our NACAC National College Fair that accompanies the conference occurs the day after conference, oftentimes. And this year, it is going to be on Wednesday the 25th, the day before conference kicks off at the LA Convention Center. And I wanted to share that because we have close to 400 colleges and universities that have signed up for that fair, and we’re working very closely with Los Angeles Unified School District and our local arrangements committee in LA to make this an amazing college fair the day before conference kicks off.

And speaking of LA Unified School District, the superintendent is going to join a panel on Friday. He will be on the main stage on Friday. So, we’re really excited to have Superintendent Carvalho join us at the conference.

But yes, if you have questions, there’s going to be information booths all over the place. Go to the reg desk, you know, if you’re in that, in the South Lobby. Dance a little bit because we’re going to have a DJ. But go to the NACAC booth if you need any help, and that’s on the expo floor. But NACAC will be… we’ll have our black, probably, NACAC zip-ups. You’ll be able to identify the staff. Tap us. Say hey. And ask any questions. And we’ll have, oh, we have over 100 volunteers. So, I want to thank the volunteers. Thank you to the volunteers, the sponsors, the exhibitors, just everyone who has been supporting the development of this — an amazing event.

[00:28:46] Gil: Awesome. Well, Shantel, I appreciate, again, your time and for you being here. And to our listeners, we will see you in a couple of weeks at NACAC. And we will see you next time here on FYI.

[00:28:58] Shantel: Excellent. Thank you, Gil. Take care.

[00:29:00] Gil: Thank you. Bye-bye.

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