SEAHO Report - Fall 2024 - 29

Why the Exhibit Hall
is a Space for Everyone
By Dan Ryan-Foley, University of Tampa
The corporate partner exhibit hall is an important and traditional part of the housing conference experience.
Various companies from across the nation (and sometimes even internationally) come together to promote
their products and services to conference delegates. But who is this space for? It may quickly come to mind
that this space is intended for Senior Housing Officers (SHOs) or other key decision-makers on our campuses.
However, this space is intended for everyone attending a conference, regardless of that person's level of
position or experience. There are many reasons why this space is for everyone and various benefits that we
can all take away from networking with the various partners who serve our home institutions. What unites all
of us in these spaces, regardless of our professional level, years of experience, or our employers, should be a
shared goal of student success, and there are infinite possibilities to learn and grow through the connections
we make with corporate partners and colleagues alike.
Reflecting on my own experience attending regional professional conferences, especially as a new
professional, the exhibit hall can be a daunting experience even for the most extroverted of individuals, such
as myself. As a non-senior housing officer and non-buyer, I did not know what exactly to do in this space, other
than to perhaps walk around and collect swag and enter drawings. While this is fun of course, it does not allow
that individual to truly get the most out of this experience.
Looking back at two previous SEAHO Reports from Winter and Spring 2024, two colleagues of mine from
the Corporate Partners Committee, Jenna Jeslis (North Carolina State University) and Kenzel Hill (Virginia
Commonwealth University) wrote outstanding articles about fostering relationships with corporate partners
and exposing myths surrounding corporate partners. It is not my intention to duplicate the work that they have
already done in this regard, so I highly recommend that you navigate over to the SEAHO website and check
out their articles, as they provide an excellent framework for navigating the exhibit hall and making meaningful
connections with corporate partners, regardless of your role on your home campus. You can find the past
SEAHO Reports at seaho.org/page/reports.
This brings me back to my original point - that the exhibit hall is a space for everyone. Even though I am not
a buyer or an SHO on my home campus, I have managed to have some great conversations and make some
excellent connections with corporate partners at SEAHO. Learning more about how to navigate this space
was part of the reason why I first got involved with the Corporate Partners Committee, and my role in this
committee has pushed me to step outside of my comfort zone and have some of these conversations.
But how is the exhibit hall for everyone? A large part of what is happening in the exhibit hall is not making
sales, it is about networking and building relationships. Many corporate partners have previously worked in the
higher education sector before moving to the corporate world, and SEAHO (or our other regional conferences)
may be where they originally made this connection. In this way, many of our partners have been in our shoes
before taking up their current roles. Although we may not walk into the exhibit hall looking for a new job, the
connections that we make in this space can undoubtedly lead to this. As Jenna discussed in her article, even
though you may not be able to purchase a company's product, follow-up with them can still be appropriate, and
can lead to a lasting relationship, whether it be between you and that person, or between your institution and
that company. This can allow you to become aware of opportunities that you may not otherwise go looking for
on your own.
The exhibit hall can also promote great networking between professionals from different higher education
institutions. This is a great space where conference attendees have lots of unstructured time to network both
with vendors and with each other. A chance meeting at a vendor's booth may prompt a conversation with
another delegate that you would not have otherwise met, especially because you have now connected over
the shared experience of visiting that partner's booth. You may make a connection with someone who is
more comfortable navigating this space or has done it many times before, who can help to guide you through
the hall, or perhaps make a connection because of a shared issue that may be happening on your home
campuses.
29

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SEAHO Report - Fall 2024

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