MARY KIRCHER RODDY
  • Home
  • Coaching and Research
  • Lectures
    • Upcoming and Past Presentations
  • Searching For Stories blog
  • Publications
  • Contact
  • Resources
  • Privacy Policy

Searching for Stories

A Call to Action

11/16/2019

3 Comments

 
Picture
In January 2017 I took Thomas W. Jones’s “Advanced Genealogical Methods” course at SLIG.  In his last session, “Continued Advancement,” he presented options and suggestions for continuing education.  The final half-page of the syllabus material for that presentation was a big blank space beneath the words, “Your Plan for Continued Advancement for 2017, 2018, and 2019.”  It was a call to action - what are you going to do, Mary Roddy, to become a better genealogist?!

My plan:
2017:
  1. Read NGSQ religiously
  2. Finish ProGen
  3. Prepare 4 new talks
  4. Join Jill Morelli’s On-The-Clock study group
2018:
  1. Submit [an article] to NGSQ [the National Genealogical Society Quarterly]
  2. Attend an institute – maybe SLIG again, maybe a different one
  3. Work on Portfolio submission materials (for the Board for Certification of Genealogists)
  4. Prepare 4 new talks
2019:
  1. Apply to speak at NGS and other larger conferences
  2. Prepare 4 new talks
 
When I enrolled in Tom’s course, I had no intention of becoming certified.  I’m already a Certified Public Accountant – what did I need another certification for?  But after a week of inspiration, I came away thinking, “Hmmm, I do that… I do that… I do that… I don’t do that, but I could.  I might just have certification in my future.“  The seed was planted.

So how did I do on my list? Numbers 3, 8 and 10 – I probably didn’t quite make this goal of 12 new talks, but I do have several completed and some in the works, so I feel OK about that one.

Items 4 and 7 – Check.  Jill’s Certification Discussion Group (I guess I didn’t even know what it was called when I made my original list), watered the seed Tom planted.  She demystified the process and made me feel certification was a goal I probably had the skills to achieve, and her structure gave me a plan.  I did work in 2018 (and 2019) on my portfolio.  What is noticeably absent from my plan is actually submitting a portfolio.  But you know what?  I did it anyway, and I passed!  I submitted my portfolio in May 2019 and got the good word in July.

Item 6 – I have a couple more SLIGs and a GRIP under my belt.    And more SLIGs to come.  Obviously I think institutes are an integral part of my genealogical improvement plan.  Item 9 – I continue to submit to national and state conferences and I was lucky enough to be selected to speak at the NGS conference in 2019.  I had a great time, and learned so much.

Item 5 – Submitting to the NGSQ.  This is the one I’m super excited about.  I was taught how to string words together many years ago, and I really enjoy the process of writing.  But until I took Tom’s course, I never thought about submitting to a peer-reviewed journal.  In his five days of teaching, and picking apart several NGSQ articles, I realized, yeah, I could probably do something like that.  A couple of colleagues encouraged me to submit my ProGen case study, and luckily the editors were interested! 

The editorial process was lengthy – first I had to address comments from three peer reviewers.  There were holes in my research I needed to fill, but their suggestions served me well as I tackled other genealogical problems, and they ultimately gave me a stronger foundation when it came time to submit my portfolio.  The opportunity to get expert opinions on my work was priceless!  (And free!  Get professional critiques for free - that’s a win in my book!)

 And then I waited, and waited, and waited.  And finally, the editor contacted me to make more changes, corrections, and clarification, but he had space for the article in the upcoming issue.  And this morning, the latest issue of the NGSQ with my article, “John C. Ahern a.k.a. John Lockren of Sonoma and Alameda Counties, California: Who Were His Parents?” arrived in my mailbox.  I think I did pretty well accomplishing those 10 plans I made in January 2017.

Tom Jones gave me a call to action, and I’d like to pass that on to institute instructors and students alike.  Teachers, as you’re wrapping things up in the last session of class, give your students five minutes to think about how they’re going to apply their new-found knowledge.  And students – even if your instructor doesn’t formally encourage you to make a plan, I’m pretty sure the inside cover of the back of your syllabus is blank and is the perfect place to set down your goals.  Do it!

​For more about attending SLIG, click here.
​

 Disclaimer – The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy has provided me a discount on my SLIG 2020 tuition for my participation as a SLIG ambassador..  The opinions expressed are my own.


Picture
Goal Realized
3 Comments
Lisa Gorrell
11/16/2019 03:08:19 pm

Congratulations on having your first article published in the Q! I can't wait to read it. I think that having some goals written after attending an institute class (or any class) is a great idea. I may steal this for my adult school course--to get people thinking of how they will use the info I have taught them.

Reply
Dana Leeds link
11/17/2019 07:06:44 am

Great post, Mary! I love the idea of institute teachers ending with a "call to action." It certainly worked in your case! And, congratulations (again) on being certified and on the article! You are an inspiration!

Reply
Jill Morelli link
11/18/2019 07:54:27 am

Glad to have been a part of your Action Plan. I had a five year plan coming out of ProGen--but I haven't updated it for the next five years. You have inspired me to do so. Thanks for the shoutout! Glad the CDG program made a difference.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Mary Kircher Roddy is a genealogist, writer and lecturer, always looking for the story.  Her blog is a combination of the stories she has found and the tools she used to find them.

    Read more of Mary's writings at "Adventures of A Broad Abroad" and at Letters from Limerick

    Archives

    April 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    Categories

    All
    Achard
    Ahern
    Aldrich
    Amador County Genealogy
    Ancestry.com
    Archives
    Blair County
    Bradley Family
    Brannack
    Brannock
    Brown
    Brown Family
    California Genealogy
    Cemetery
    Census
    Citations
    City Directories
    Clark County
    Death Records
    DNA Strategies
    Education
    Enslaved People Research
    FamilySearch
    Family Stories
    Fields Family
    Freuhauf
    Genealogy Conferences
    Genealogy Education
    German Research
    Germany
    Graham Family
    Grandparents
    Hardy
    Hartmann
    Indexes
    Ireland
    Kircher
    Letters
    Lunenburg
    Map
    Mapping Tools
    Midwest Resources
    Midwives
    Military
    Newspaper
    Newspapers
    New York
    Ohio
    Pennsylvania
    ProGen
    Railroad
    Records
    Research Techniques
    San Francisco
    Sonoma County Genealogy
    Spreadsheets
    Springer
    Tiburon
    Timelines
    Virginia
    Virginia Genealogy
    Vital Records
    War
    Webster
    World War II Research
    Writing

     Subscribe in a reader

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Coaching and Research
  • Lectures
    • Upcoming and Past Presentations
  • Searching For Stories blog
  • Publications
  • Contact
  • Resources
  • Privacy Policy