Blizzcon 2018 was pretty epic! Last year I hadn’t been at the company long enough to fully appreciate everything working for Blizzard entailed at Blizzcon, but this year was a different story. I knew what the announcements were going to be and was so excited to hear how the audience reacted to them. There were also a few surprises for me on the floor too which was super nice. Plus this year, some of our friends were able to attend the conference too. There was a bunch of our WoW guildies: Audra, Sam, Gabe, Rue, and Jason. Plus, there was my ex co-worker Lauryn. It was great to see everyone and hang out and share our love of Blizzard gaming.

As always, I worked a shift this year too. I worked the opening shift in the Inclusion Nexus. Opening shift wasn’t my favorite to be honest. There wasn’t anyone around for most of the shift because they were all enjoying the opening ceremonies. Then in the middle of the ceremonies, I had to take lunch, so I missed a bit of them. However, working in the Inclusion Nexus was great. It was so nice to have a space celebrating all the different types of gamers that play our games. We have such diversity at Blizzard and in our gaming communities that it was nice to see how that all came together.

During my shift in the Inclusion Nexus, I also gave a talk on one of my favorite projects lately: ‘How Social Systems Empower More Inclusive Communities’. I was nervous to talk at Blizzcon, but I’m so happy that I got through it smoothly. Plus, my friends came out to support me which was awesome! I can’t wait to see what happens next year!