So much to do today! This morning I went to my last student breakfast, and got to tell everyone about the Thriving Earth Exchange, which is a bit like Kickstarter for science (and focuses on bottom-up, community-driven research applications. The breakfast is also a great chance to network with section leaders (and even the President of AGU!) and get yourself noticed, and the food is free, so you really should drag yourself out of bed to go. (The room wasn’t even full – I can’t believe so many students passed up free breakfast!) I also stopped by the student lounge in Moscone South 101, which is a great place to relax and hang out with other students.

The rest of my morning was devoted to a quick round of volcanology posters and the Thriving Earth Exchange Workshop, where we got to talk with a Denver Community group about how to apply science to issues that they deal with. It was great to finally hear some more about the community side of things, and it’s never a bad thing when you’re rewarded with s’more-making kits at the end.

Lunch was with the Volcanology, Geochemistry and Petrology Executive Committee meeting. It’s my last year as a student representative and it’s been an interesting time so far! AGU is really moving toward including students more and more in not only meetings but governance, and if you see those calls for volunteer positions go out, you should really consider answering. It’s always a great learning experience and also another great networking opportunity.

In a little while I’ll be joining other bloggers on a Blogging Panel in Moscone West third floor – come and listen to hear what it’s like to write these posts and how you can start blogging yourself! Questions are definitely welome.

UPDATE: What a great bloggers forum! Over the years I’ve been noticing that the forum content has been less and less focused on the panel members and is including more of the audience, and this year was no exception. We had great input from the audience on their experiences, some really thoughtful questions and a good range of opinions on everything from dealing with comments to how to promote yourself. (Hint: if you’re not on Twitter, you should consider it!)

In the evening I went to the Earth Science Womens Network reception and had a blast talking to grad students and senior scientists (including AGU’s President Carol Finn and Executive Director Chris McEntee, who are everywhere this meeting). And afterward I made it to the VGP reception, which was packed as usual. It was unfortunate that there were no chairs to sit in this year because it meant that the career award recipients were drowned out by the chatting going on during their speeches, but I gather thare was some confusion over when food and drink were to be provided (usually not until after the awards). Still, it was nice to see so many colleagues and catch up with some fellow UB grads.