2024 Professional Development Scholarship: Apra PD Experience

Written By: Rob Lyles

Rob Lyles, Prospect Research Analyst at Clemson University, was awarded the 2024 Professional Development Scholarship from Apra Carolinas. He chose to use the award to attend Apra PD in Seattle, Washington. Below is a recap from Rob regarding his experience.

This was my third year attending Apra PD, and it was absolutely the best, for me, so far. In 2022, I attended Apra PD in Atlanta just a few weeks after starting my current position—a fresh hire not just at Clemson, but in the field of higher ed and philanthropy as a whole. I was a middle school English teacher for ten years previously, so while getting to travel to Apra PD was very new and pretty exciting, I was drinking from the proverbial firehose for much of that first conference. I felt a bit better last summer in Indianapolis, but when I got to Seattle this year: wow! I actually knew what presenters were talking about, I knew what questions I wanted to ask, and I met tons of researchers from across the country and the planet—and all in one of the coolest cities I’ve been able to visit.

Our team chose to divide and conquer when it came to conference  sessions; I went with mostly soft skills/psychology-centric options, including Inclusive Philanthropy, Giving Behavior, and Introverted Leadership—where I found out I’m not actually an introvert at all, but an ambivert (and where I immediately found out what an ambivert is!). Probably my favorite session was the pre-conference discussion on AI tools, specifically BoodleBox: we’ve all been hearing a lot about AI for what seems like a long time now (and it was certainly a theme at Apra PD overall), but here I got to see maybe the coolest actual development-focused use case for it I’ve encountered, which was great to be able to take back to Clemson with me.

If I’m being honest, what was different about this conference wasn’t the conference, it was the people. I met researchers and development professionals from universities, hospitals, museums, the Make A Wish Foundation—hearing their perspectives and experiences is always my favorite part of Apra PD, but this time I felt like I had enough experience of my own to really appreciate what’s happening elsewhere in the world of prospect research. So maybe what was different this year was me! And also the food—wow, the food was good. I didn’t think I even liked calamari but hey, realistically I ate two pounds of it.

Since it was my first-ever conference, I may be a bit biased, but Apra PD was my immediate pick for this year because it is hands-down my favorite. That week has consistently been such a rich source of networking, true professional development, and—honestly—inspiration: I was constantly reminded of how fortunate I am to be working in this field, with these people, helping to enact real positive change in the world. I got some great quality time in with my team members there and our leadership (over amazing meals, obviously), and I came back feeling ready to get it all done.

I would wholeheartedly recommend that you go to Apra PD in Baltimore next August, absolutely—and I am thoroughly grateful to Apra Carolinas for the opportunity to be there in Seattle this year. :) Thanks!