Event Overview
On September 11, 2024, the Stamps Scholars Program hosted its highly anticipated All-Scholars Welcome Gathering—a dynamic networking event designed to foster connections, collaboration, and community among the program's diverse and talented members. With approximately 500 attendees, the event set a new standard for virtual gatherings, leveraging cutting-edge technology through Gatherly, a platform renowned for its immersive, lifelike experience that allowed participants to engage in meaningful interactions.
Event Objectives
The All-Scholars Welcome Gathering aimed to achieve several key objectives:
● Building Connections: Strengthen relationships between new and returning scholars, encouraging networking and collaboration across disciplines and geographies.
● Group Activities: Facilitate engagement through group activities that would encourage team-building, creativity, and shared experiences.
● Service Projects: Provide opportunities for scholars to collaborate on impactful service projects, reinforcing the program's commitment to social responsibility.
● Resource Sharing: Offer resources and insights on career development, internships, international opportunities, and other aspects crucial to the scholars' personal and professional growth.
The Virtual Platform - Gatherly: To ensure the event was as engaging and interactive as possible, the Stamps Scholars Program partnered with Gatherly, an innovative virtual platform known for providing a more lifelike, interactive event experience compared to traditional video conferencing tools. Unlike conventional virtual platforms, Gatherly enables participants to interact with each other through a spatial, 2D layout that mimics real-world movement and networking, making it easier for attendees to engage in spontaneous, organic conversations, just like they would in person.
The platform’s features, including customizable avatars, virtual spaces, and dynamic interactions, allowed attendees to move freely between various "rooms" dedicated to specific themes such as career development, international exchange opportunities, and volunteer service. Scholars could easily connect with like-minded peers, mentors, and speakers in these spaces, building a stronger sense of community and support.
Event Highlights:
● Immersive Networking: Using Gatherly, scholars navigated a virtual environment to engage naturally, fostering spontaneous conversations and meaningful connections without rigid breakout sessions.
● Dynamic Group Activities: Icebreakers, trivia, and leadership workshops utilized Gatherly’s spatial features to create engaging, team-based experiences that felt authentic and collaborative.
● Service Project Collaboration: Participants brainstormed and planned social impact initiatives in small groups, benefiting from Gatherly’s interactive, shared workspace environment.
● Career and International Opportunities: Virtual booths hosted advisors and experts offering personalized guidance on internships, job markets, and global opportunities.
● Global Inclusivity: The virtual format connected scholars worldwide, ensuring accessible and inclusive engagement for attendees from diverse backgrounds and locations.
Outcomes and Success
The All-Scholars Welcome Gathering was a resounding success, exceeding expectations in several key areas:
● High Engagement: Participants remained actively engaged throughout the event, with high participation in both group activities and networking sessions. The natural interactions facilitated by Gatherly led to lasting connections, with many scholars noting that they had made valuable friendships and professional contacts.
● Positive Feedback: Post-event surveys revealed overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants. Scholars expressed that the event’s interactive nature was a major highlight, with many praising the seamless integration of networking and resource-sharing features.
● Stronger Sense of Community: The event succeeded in building a stronger sense of community within the Stamps Scholars Program, with many attendees reporting that they felt more connected to their peers and better informed about career and international opportunities.
● Impactful Service Projects: The collaborative nature of the service projects led to meaningful action steps and plans that participants could take forward, making a real-world impact on the communities they were aiming to serve.
Conclusion
The All-Scholars Welcome Gathering proved to be a milestone event for the Stamps Scholars Program, showcasing the power of Gatherly to create deeper, more authentic connections in a virtual environment. By using innovative technology to bring people together in a lifelike way, the event helped scholars build meaningful relationships, share resources, and collaborate on service initiatives—fulfilling its objectives and setting a new standard for virtual networking events. With its success, the Stamps Scholars Program demonstrated the potential of virtual platforms to foster connection, community, and collaboration on a global scale.