I returned a call to a friend after returning from the Sloan Consortium’s International Conference at Orlando, Florida. “How was it? The same old people, right?” she asked. It has often intrigued me as a doctoral student that not everyone is interested in going to conferences, after all, it is part of a researcher’s practice, or so we were told — to disseminate ideas/findings and engage with one’s community of practice. Now that I’ve graduated, I still find it exciting to continue with the practice. But my friend’s comment made…