LISA ’11: Carolyn Rowland on 25 Years of LISA

Since 1995, Carolyn Rowland has attended 10 LISA conferences. "I was involved in '10 as part of the Program Committee," she says. "Before that I just lurked in the hallway track." This year Carolyn, along with Mark Burgess, will be leading A Sysadmin's Guide to Navigating the Business World training.

How has LISA changed over the years? Carolyn notes that the event obviously changed with technology. "Tutorials used to span only the first half of the week and there were so many to choose from that you often ended up missing something you really wanted to take because of a conflict," she says. "Now tutorials span the whole week for those who want the classroom instruction. You have the option of a la carte technical conference as well, so the attendee can make the most of the week."

Carolyn says that over the years, LISA always had a good breadth of instruction for anyone in system administration. "It is really the best place to go for a week to get a good taste of a variety of technologies and issues facing the profession today," she explains. She notes that other events may specialize more and give a deeper dive into a specific technology, but LISA is the one place to go to find a little bit of everything. "I love that I am exposed to things outside of my little worldview that push my technical comfort zone," she says. "There are a lot of smarter people than me and I find many of them at LISA willing to share their experiences."

She says she doesn't have just one favorite LISA memory. "I think the most fun year was 2010, when I was involved on the program committee," she recalls. "I could no longer lurk in the shadows in the hallway track because I was walking around wearing an 'organizing committee' badge. People stopped me to ask questions and it forced me to really talk to people. I met so many more people in that one year than I had previously."

Some of the people Carolyn looks forward to talking to at LISA '11 include: Mark Burgess, Tom Limoncelli, Doug Hughes, David Blank-Edelman, Alva Couch, Matt Disney, Duncan Hutty, Chris St. Pierre, Phillip Kiser, and Mike Ciavarella.

Carolyn says that she likes the fresh perspective she gets from attending LISA. "I talk to people doing things I haven't tried or things I've thought about doing and I hear how they've made it work — or not," she explains. "It is also great just to get out of my little space to be with people like me. I do think that we are often isolated in this profession, so having a place to go where you're respected for your abilities and can share war stories is cleansing and restorative."

Carolyn says that first-time attendees can expect to gain awareness of what's happening technically in the world of system administration that could impact his or her career. Attending LISA also adds new skills to an admin's arsenal in addition to providing networking opportunities. "Someday you may want to change jobs and it is great to have a network of people who know your capabilities and can pass your name along or can tell you about openings," she notes. "You also leave feeling less isolated. There are others out there like you!"

She things the events during week can help pull people together, so even if you're not a raging extrovert, you can find ways to talk to people. "Recognize someone from a book, a tool or a blog? Walk up and introduce yourself," she encourages. "These gurus of the profession are very approachable and you might walk away with a new acquaintance."

Register by Friday, November 25, 2011 (11:50pm Pacific Time) to be entered into a drawing for a free 1-year subscription to Admin Magazine or a free technical session registration. Ten names will be drawn to win a free subscription, and one lucky registrant will score the free tech pass!