This is the eighth in a series of interviews
with speakers leading up to the 2012 PASS Summit which will be held in Seattle from November 6th
- 9th. This interview is with PASS Performance Virtual Chapter Leader, Erin Stellato.
Tell us about yourself
I am a
Senior Consultant for SQLskills.com and a SQL Server MVP. I like to know how things work, and in my SQL
Server world that translates to knowing how the storage engine and query
processor work. I have been working with
clients for the past 12 years, and each day is an adventure. I learn something new every day.
Tell us your favorite thing about your PASS session(s)
My favorite thing
about both of my Summit sessions is that I share practical, real-world
knowledge that a DBA or developer can put to use immediately. It goes back to knowing how things work. It's not just about understanding how
statistics get created and how they get updated, it's also how they are used by
the query processor. For DBCC, I don't
want people to simply know the commands, I want them to understand the impact
on their data or on performance, so they don't have one of those
"Whoops!" moments with a production environment.
Tell us about your first time at PASS Summit
It was two years
ago, 2010. I finally had the opportunity
to meet so many people in person - people that I "knew" from
Twitter. One of the first people I met
up with was Ted Krueger. I remember
sitting down near the front for the keynote on the first day and it opened with
a Tina Turner impersonator. I was so
confused. I remember thinking,
"What inside joke did I miss here?"
Then I realized that I wasn't the only one who didn't get it. I planned to attend a session in every time
slot, every day. By the second day I was
exhausted. I learned a lot, met a ton of people, and it was a fantastic week.
What advice do you have for PASS Summit First Timers?
Keep an open
mind. The value in Summit is not just
the content, it's also the people. There
are a few thousand people at Summit.
Most of them are like you in a lot of ways, but that doesn't mean that
you'll connect with every person.
Introduce yourself to people - that includes the person sitting next to
you in a session, at lunch, or the speaker whose session you just
attended. Some people may take a while
to chat (some of us are introverts :), others will be happy to have an hour
long conversation with you. You never
know who you'll meet; you never know who will help you solve a performance
problem you've been struggling with at work, who might get you actually using
PowerShell (finally!), or who might end up being your roommate at Summit next
year.
What are your can't-miss PASS sessions?
The ones from Bob Ward and Paul White. If I want to know how things
work, those are two of the go-to individuals in the community.
Besides sessions, what's on your must-do list at
Summit?
Wednesday morning's #sqlrun
organized by roommate Jes Borland.
Donuts from Top Pot. A trip down
to La Panier in Pike's Place. But
mostly, just seeing old friends, catching up, and meeting new people!
How can attendees become involved in the SQL Server
Community and continue their learning throughout the year?
Take advantage of
your Local Chapter, and start following the Virtual Chapters! Not everyone can attend
their local meeting every single month, life is crazy. But the virtual chapters don't require you to
go anywhere, just tune in and learn. I
highly recommend Twitter. It is a great
medium for getting to know people. And
if you want to really get involved in the SQL Server Community, volunteer. If you don't where to start, stop by the Community Zone while you're at Summit. I know
that PASS is always looking for smart, motivated individuals to help out with
the many on-going projects in the community.
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