Rogue 50, Danielle Lopez, recently met up with other Rogues and Spec Ops members at the annual San Diego Comic-Con. Here's what she had to say about the event!

San Diego Comic-Con 2014:

While perusing Starwars.com, I stumbled upon Star Wars in the Classroom. Being an elementary school teacher and fan of Star Wars, I knew this was a community I had to become part of. I turned in my application and was initiated as “Rogue 50.” Wes Dodgens and Thomas Riddle have truly committed themselves to building a close-knit community of educators. Using social media, we organized the first San Diego Comic Con Rogue Meet-up.

Star Wars in the Classroom Rogues met up on Saturday afternoon in front of San Diego Convention Center. We were able to finally put Twitter names to real people. Our group consisted of Cole Horton, author of From World War to Star Wars; Vanessa Marshall, voice of Hera from Star Wars Rebels; Emily Morton, daughter of John ‘Dak’ Morton; and myself, elementary school teacher and Star Wars enthusiast. These incredible Rogues were all welcoming and down to earth.

After initial introductions and greetings, we moved inside to the Lucas Films Pavilion. There we met up with Ashley Eckstein, voice of Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars the Clone Wars, at the Her Universe booth. I must note that Vanessa Marshall was rocking an orange Rogue Her Universe dress! We met others from the Star Wars community including two guys (that I swear were Jedi disguised in street clothes) named Old Ben and Dave, and Karen and Loyd Shelton, security for Star Wars events.

From the Pavilion, Vanessa, Emily, Karen, Loyd, and I walked over to McCormick & Schmicks for lunch. Throughout the meal we talked about the convention and shared a little bit about one another. Before long, we began sharing various health issues like we all knew each other for years, not an hour. My favorite stories were the ones told by Loyd and Karen. Loyd shared his experiences as a Corrections Officer, Green Beret, and as security for various Star Wars events. If you ever get a chance to meet Loyd and Karen, grab a drink, sit back, and listen to their incredible stories. I asked Vanessa how she got into voice acting. She shared her journey of intensive voice and dialect classes through NYU’s Graduate Program. We also heard from Emily about growing up in the Star Wars community. At the close of our luncheon, we exchanged hugs and said our good-byes.

Being a part of the Star Wars community is unique from other groups. It doesn’t matter if you are on screen, behind the screen, blog for Star Wars, are event security, or an elementary school teacher. The Star Wars community warmly welcomes everyone. Since the convention, our conversations still continue, except on Twitter. I look forward to the next Rogue Meet-up. Hopefully you too can also join our small band of Rebels A.K.A. Rogues.

Rogues Danielle Lopez, Cole Horton, Vanessa Marshall and John Morton's daughter, Emily, at San Diego Comic-Con

Ashley Eckstein joins Rogues Danielle Lopez, Cole Horton, Vanessa Marshall and John Morton's daughter, Emily, at San Diego Comic-Con