#AMTA11

This past weekend was the American Music Therapy Conference in Atlanta, GA. And it was SPECTACULAR. Every year the AMTA conferences blow me away, and this year was no different. Some things that were a little a different are as follows:

• I presented my very first session (which means that I got a super awesome presentor pin!!) with another MT student who is also a cancer survivor. This was our chance to provide MTs with tips and insight to what it is actually like to be a cancer patient and everything that comes with it. We had a good turnout, especially when you consider that our session was at thesame time as a number of MT greats from across the country. Megan and I both got a lot of positive feedback (even the day after the presentation) from students and professionals alike on how much they learned and enjoyed our perspectives.
• Celebrity guest: Ben Folds attended this year's AMTA conference because he wanted to learn more about Music Therapy. He wasn't there to toot his own horn, but to learn about this amazing profession. Here's hoping that he learned a lot and shares it with all of his friends!
• Twitter was on fire. I am relatively new to understanding the power of twitter, and it is amazing to me the sense of community that has come out of all the Music Therapy people I follow. Someone had the brilliant idea for everyone to add #amta11 to every conference related tweet. Smart person!! Did I mention that twitter is pretty much the reason Ben Folds decided to check us out??
• My very last conference as a student. It will be even weirder in Chicago next year when it will be my first conference as a professional! In this transition state, I decided to attend the Southeastern Region professionals meeting to get a bit more acquainted with that side of things and my future colleagues.

I always leave a conference feeling extra motivated and excited about Music Therapy. Not only does it let me reconnect with friends and meet my Music Therapist idols, but it is also a great opportunity to network and to learn about anything and everything related to MT (creating an online presence, end-of-life care with hospice patients, pre-schoolers and movement, just to name a few!). I got to attend some fantastic sessions this year that reignited my passion for different populations. My one beef with conference is that there tend to be 15 sessions I want to attend at the same time. That being said, the ones I was lucky enough to attend were great this year, and I fully intend on getting notes from people who went to the sessions I missed.

Conference was great, and there is too much for me to say about it for just one post. So look out for #AMTA11 part 2, coming soon!!