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Ad space is limited and is taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. Contact the Business Manager at business@ technewsiit.com for more information. LOCAL Er NATIONAL ADVERTISERS To place an ad, contact us via email at business@technewsiit.com. AUSTIN GONZALEZ opinion@technewsiit.com TechNews | Tuesday, April 2151:, 2015 Chi- Fi, other co_nventi0ns provide valuable experiences to students Kristal Copeland IT MANAGER Chi-Iii is a nonprofit science fic- tion convention that takes place in Chicago; it has happened twice, and I have volunteered both times. This year, Chi—H’s first full week— end occurred from March 1942. Chi—Fl had many guests, including Skepchicks. Gigi Edg— ley (Chiana in Farscape), Jon St. John (Duke Nukem), and Philo Barnhart (Disney anima— tor). While there, I met the electro—swing artist known as Vourteque. Vourteque is a D}, a pro- ducer, a remix artist, a ringmaster, a musician, and even a carny. I saw the Gothsicles, one of my favorite nerdy bands, who make songs such as "My Guy Died” and “The Konami Code,” and the members of Time Crash, a Trock band (Yes, Doctor Who rock is a genre). They were in the exhibitor hall, along with the Ice Cream Team, a company that provides characters and games for parties. This con had quite a few panels on its sixth floor and parts of the seventh, and I Play Games was hosting video games on the 00.000.000.000 -\] business@technewsiit.com seveutl ii floor. 'I hcrc was .i EIII'IL‘I about what its like to be an animator from one (II-ilk“ animss tors of the Animaniacs, and there were several discussion panels. including one about how scientists should team up with people in the atre to better explain Iheir fields. There was a show called ’MacSith, a variant of MacBeth melded with Star Wars, held by Edge ofOrion. There were even burlesque shows. The won— derful Clair-a Bell—among others—preformed as characters like Speed Racer, a female Robin (Batman), and Darth Vader. Many students, especially in the STEM fields, do not go to conventions. Even though they generally enjoy the subject, it is difficult for them to interact with large groups of people. Some even still do not see the ben— efit in attending conventions. In order to get over stage fright, many people, including my- self, become actors and actresses. In order to get over my fear of large crowds of people, I attended an anime convention more than nine years ago. Attending conventions is a great way to meet amazing people who—and here is the best part—also want to meet you. Attending ENW ERIN”? Become a; TechNews mite/v editor@technewsiit.com AN FREAKY FAST! FREAKY com entions can help people who might other- wise never gain .1 valuable and highly desired skill for a potential employer. While there were many great panels at Chi—Fi, my favorite part of this volunteer ex— perience was actually the parties. I love to meet new people, and I believe that conventions are even a good networking opportunity for people who are interested in certain subjects to find people working in the fields in which they would like to work. In fact, my internship stems from a chance meeting at a convention earlier in the year. The parties at Chi-Fi gener— ally had specific themes. Party themes includ— ed a skeptics party, a pirate party, a steampunk party, and many more. Overall, I greatly enjoyed the experi— ence. I met a large amount of amazing people, got to have wonderful conversations, and even got to see a friend of mine preform in a play having no prior notice of her involvement. I got to talk about science and technology, the— atre, mythology, and even information secu— rity. Chi—Fl was an amazing convention and I plan to help them as much as I can every year. .0000000000000000009000GOOOOOOOQOCOQOOCOOQO OOOQOCOOOOOGO SERIOUS DELIVERY!" * JIMMYJOHNS.COM * TO FIND THE LOCATION NEAREST YOU VISIT JIMMYJOHNSJIOM 2014 JIMMY JOHN'S FRANCHISE, LlC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.