Whenever I lack knowledge in a certain area, my instinct is to find ways to learn. It is one of the main characteristics of a lifelong learner that I embody. I love learning from other experts and furthering my knowledge to be a better instructional designer and professor and have a better mindset. So, it is no surprise that I spent the first three months of the summer learning with fellow instructional designers.

I discovered the IDLance community while attempting to find more opportunities to connect with other instructional designers. I loved that it was a free community meant to bring instructional designers together to vent, share stories, ask for help, and bring a little comedy to the day-to-day.

In April, the IDLance head gurus, Parker and Andrea, posted about an amazing opportunity to learn more about the freelance side of instructional design. The program would cover business acumen, client relations, and the opportunity to hone my instructional design skills. I decided to apply because of my business (there is so much I don’t know about running a business) and my desire to learn all aspects of instructional design, including corporate. Within a week, I received an email congratulating me on making it to the first cohort!

I won’t give away all the content and surprises (you should apply!), but the program was an amazing opportunity. It opened my eyes to how much more I needed to do to set up my business (which I have had for three years), reiterated my love for higher education instructional design, and helped me see the importance of continuing to network and build relationships. And the cherry on top was being able to learn from fellow instructional designers and create a new support system in the online world.

Thank you, Andrea and Parker!