Be on the Higher Ed Lookout: Meet our Higher Ed Community Trailblazers

By: Kathleen Lueckeman, Chief Innovation Officer at Maryville University

Networking is on almost every list of tips for making the most of Dreamforce. The career and relationship connections are a natural but with Salesforce, it’s more about the Ohana, the family of trailblazers who stand ready to help you in many ways. Here are three easy ways to spot our higher ed community trailblazers.

Spirit Day is Monday
The first day of every Dreamforce is Spirit Day, and school-branded apparel is a built-in ice breaker – just refer to the mascot to get the conversation started! Keep an eye out for the school you want to connect with and be sure to wear your school colors so others can identify you, too.

Be on the Higher Ed Lookout
Check out this handy infographic to put faces to the names of the trailblazers you should meet this Dreamforce. You may run into one before or after sessions, while exploring the campground or during one of the many receptions you’re sure to attend. Don’t hesitate to introduce yourself. They want to meet you and are willing to help.

Reserve your Spot at Community-Led Sessions
Join the Higher Education Advisory Council for two great community-led breakout sessions: Higher Education User Group LIVE on Tuesday at 11 a.m. and Higher Ed Office Hours LIVE on Thursday at 11 a.m. You’ll have a chance to meet, learn from and get questions answered by veteran users who are leaders in the community.

Can’t Attend Dreamforce?
Dreamforce sold out fast this year, but there’s no reason to despair if you can’t be onsite. As always, the advisory council makes it easy to regularly interact with the community; and this year, on Nov. 14, you can catch Dreamforce highlights and key takeaways at the Higher Education User Group’s Global Gathering meeting. That’s right, the (nearly) weekly virtual user group meeting will focus on Dreamforce and there will even be a chance to win swag and prizes. Learn more about it in our private Chatter group in the Success Community.

Plus, December’s Higher Ed Office Hours will continue the Dreamforce learning theme. Higher Ed Office Hours, held the second Friday of every month at noon Eastern, is a call-in program where council members answer your questions – and if you don’t ask questions, these veteran users will talk about their favorite tips and tricks or explain something new and interesting they’re doing. It’s a great, informal way to interact with leaders and to learn from peers.

It’s easy to get to know the community. Attend a session, make introductions, join the user group and set a recurring meeting on your calendar for office hours. With so many ways to network with the higher ed Ohana, you will be well supported as you blaze your own trail to success.

About the Author
Kathleen Lueckeman is an active Ohana member and Salesforce veteran. She founded the Higher Education Advisory Council, founded the Higher Ed Summit (hosting it before Salesforce.org assumed it!), serves as the Higher Education User Group Leader and moderates Higher Ed Office Hours. As chief innovation officer at Maryville University, she leads the enterprise implementation, including unlimited Service Cloud, a student community to replace the school’s student portal, Pardot, Social Studio and Einstein Analytics; and she is introducing custom solutions for events, appointments, advancement and enrollment management. In fact, the application for admission built for Maryville serves as the basis for “EASY,” the enterprise application solution being open sourced at Dreamforce. Learn more about this solution – and ULTRA, the recruitment solution being open sourced by University of Miami – at the ULTRA EASY breakout session, co-presented by Kathy and Florence Parodi of the University of Miami. Both solutions are funded by Force for Change grants so higher eds can use the them at no charge.