(Virtual) UNBADGED: A Public Reclamation Studio hosted by myCareerCollaboration
About VIRTUAL - UNBADGED
What do you do with the things that still carry the name of a place you've left?
The company shirt. The conference badge. The branded water bottle. The swag you never actually wanted but somehow couldn't throw away. For much of our lives, our identities become intertwined with where we work. These objects can carry memories of belonging, achievement, ambition, disappointment, exhaustion or simply a chapter that is over.
And then something changes. You leave. You're laid off. You change careers. You burn out. You decide you want something different. But the identity can linger.
What happens when we give it a new story?
Welcome to UNBADGED
Virtual UNBADGED is a virtual participatory experience about letting go, making meaning, and creating something new. You’ll virtually share an object, image, story, or memory connected to a former workplace, career, or professional identity. Then we'll reclaim it together.
This isn't about pretending the past didn't happen. It's about deciding what gets to come with you and what doesn't.
During our time together, we'll:
Reflect on the identities we've carried through our careers.
Share the stories behind the things we're ready to reclaim.
Create a small act of transformation using whatever you have around you.
Connect with other people navigating their own version of what's next.
Think of it as part conversation, part creative experiment, part community gathering, and a little bit of art therapy light.
No artistic experience required. No perfect story required. No five-year plan required.
What to Bring
Bring something that carries the name, logo, memory, or energy of a professional chapter you're ready to reclaim.
It could be:
A company T-shirt, jacket, or sweatshirt
A conference badge
A water bottle or tumbler
A notebook
Promotional swag
A photo of something you no longer have
A story about something you couldn't bring
Or simply yourself
Don't have anything to bring? Come anyway.
The object is just the doorway. The real material we're working with is identity.
Who Is This For?
UNBADGED is for anyone who has ever had a complicated relationship with work.
Maybe you're navigating:
A layoff or unexpected job loss
A career transition
Burnout
Reinvention
Entrepreneurship
Returning to the workforce
Leaving an organization you once loved
Changing industries or professional identities
The strange feeling of "I don't know who I am professionally anymore."
Or maybe you're simply curious about what happens when we take something from an old chapter and make it mean something new.
You don't have to be in transition to participate.
Artists, makers, community builders, career explorers, recovering corporate people, and curious humans are all welcome.
This Probably Isn't Your Thing
UNBADGED might not be for you if you're looking for a traditional networking event.
There won't be business-card collecting. There won't be a panel of experts telling you how to fix your career. There won't be a presentation telling you what you should be doing next. And you definitely don't have to show up with your five-year plan.
This is a space to experiment, play, process, connect, and make meaning.
Come as you are. Bring the thing you've been keeping—or just bring the story of it.
Let's see what it can become. Because sometimes reclaiming your identity starts with making a little room for something new.
UNBADGED is a public reclamation.