This week’s Connect Live Attendee of the Week is Karen Chin ( @KarenVChin ), a Level 8 Local Guide in California’sBay Area. She’s a Connect Moderator and four-time attendee of the biggest event for Local Guides—both of which have allowed her to mentor countless others. Karen was nominated for Attendee of the Week by three different Local Guides for her impact.
“Karen is always available to help others and share useful information. She is an experienced Local Guide, and as a moderator, she has a wide knowledge,” said Matteo Bassetti ( @Matt95Bassett ). “She is seriously engaged within the Local Guides community. Her posts are beautiful, complete, and written clearly. Her video for participating in Connect Live 2019 was very much appreciated by everyone. She always has a compliment ready for everyone and is very kind.”
When Karen mentors other Local Guides, she looks for those who have an untapped skill and tries to bring it out in them. “People love to talk once you get them going. I like to bring things out of people because I’m very curious and I like to learn what makes people who they are,” Karen said. “I tell Local Guides the program is all about ‘you.’ You have to showcase what motivates you. Write about things that interest you and don’t worry about following a formula.”
Mohammad Sagir Adamu ( @Sagir ) wrote in to say, “Karen is very supportive on Connect and on social media. She is a guide for Local Guides. She’s full of program knowledge and is always ready to assist others. She goes to any length to see that your problem is solved.”
One Local Guide Karen remembers mentoring is Emeka Ulor ( @EmekaUlor ). “I asked Emeka to tell me a little bit more about why he was taking pictures of wheelchair ramps in Lagos. Once I learned more about his motivation, I told him I thought he should talk more about it and host a meet-up,” Karen said. Emeka created the One Accessibility Alliance on Connect after attending Connect Live 2018. “Look at him now! He got started on the topic of accessibility and now he’s just taken off.”
Emeka is the third Local Guide who nominated Karen for Attendee of the Week. “Karen has been helpful to Connect Live attendees and Local Guides in general,” he told us. “She is social and directs Local Guides to posts that can help solve their challenges.”
Karen takes an active role in helping fellow Local Guides both online and in person. During Connect Live last year, she and @ermest corralled 26 other Local Guides from all over the world to participate in a clean-up in San Francisco’s Presidio. Now that the event is moving 48 miles south (77 km) to San Jose, the Bay Area resident is excited by what’s to come this November.
“Every year, it’s different,” Karen said. “It’s a mind-blowing experience that will change your life forever. It will be 72 hours that you will never forget. And if you choose to do so, you can bond and interact with people and come out of the event with friends for life all over the world.”
To learn more about Karen, check out her Google Maps list of Cheap Ways to Grow a Children’s Library, her application post on Connect, or her application video. You can also ask her questions in the comments below!
Want to learn more about past Connect Live Attendees of the Week?
- July 19, 2019: @lynneannec. Read about Lynne here.
- July 26, 2019: @CaroGuiniazu. Read about Caro here.
- August 2, 2019: @ermest. Read about Ermes here.
- August 9, 2019: @OmerAli. Read about Omer here.
- August 16, 2019: @Kwiksatik. Read about Megan here.
- August 23, 2019: @DavidTito .Read about David here.
The video is lovely and full of energy.
