by Camille Vogl | Instagram| Website

Before 2017, I had very minimal knowledge of WordPress or WordCamp Miami. That year, I was approaching my senior year at Florida Atlantic University and was starting to apply for marketing roles. I began to notice that almost every marketing role required WordPress knowledge. Needless to say, when I was given the assignment to create a marketing blog as part of my senior project, I took the opportunity to learn WordPress. I wanted to give myself an edge when applying for entry-level marketing jobs.

I had no clue what I had gotten myself into.

I spent two weeks learning everything I could, stumbling along the way. I even made the noob mistake of signing up for WordPress.com instead of WordPress.org.

Luckily, things became smoother and I started getting the hang of it. Shortly after, my internship manager told us he was bringing our team to WordCamp Miami. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was willing to dive in headfirst to the experience. And I’m glad I did.

Over the next three years, I would be involved in one of the most immersive and collaborative conferences I have attended. Every year, I’m able to take away a gold mine of information and constantly transform the way I help build online experiences. I have been able to use the skills and tactics I learn at WordPress to become a Unicorn marketer. Yes, I know it’s a large claim but truly, I do it all and I’m proud of it. I learned more than web design, I gained knowledge on SEO, creating content, personal branding, and much more.

My WordCamp experience especially helped me in finding and exceeding at Florida International University’s Master of Marketing program. I created a strong digital presence as a marketer and even assisted my Cohort with their WordPress sites. Now a recent graduate of the program, I teach personal branding via WordPress to the same program I was part of.

I also was able to take my first marketing role and complete a full re brand of the company using WordPress and the skills I learned from WordCamp Miami. This same experience and knowledge eventually helped land me my role as a Customer Experience Specialist for ADT mid-2019. In my role, I help to improve the experience of our online platforms.

I credit much of my success to WordCamp Miami. It has afforded me so many opportunities over the last three years. This is why I come back year-after-year. This community has embraced me, taught me, and inspired me to challenge myself and to create for good.

I encourage anyone attending their first or even their fifth WordCamp to just dive in. Don’t just show up, take notes and leave. Embrace the crazy Slack chats, visit the Happiness Bar, and interact with the vendor booths. Do all the things!

Most importantly, connect and collaborate. I have gained some amazing friends and colleagues from this conference. I guarantee you that you will too!