You may think that coordinating events during the pandemic is simpler than planning an in-person event, but virtual events can be even more difficult to plan.
Angela Roman is the Director of Center for Leadership, Activities, and Career Services (CLACS) and is currently facing that task in addition to her many jobs to do as director.
“You may see me on-site coordinating an event, find me in the University Wide committee meeting collaborating with others for student success,” Roman said, “or you might just find me having a great one-on-one conversation with a student talking about their career goals.”
She does all of this while also leading a hard-working team. Roman is largely active in the bigger events held on campus such as Bulldog Beginnings and Music Takes Action but enjoys attending all the events CLACS has to offer.
Nick Smith is another key player in running events at the CLACS office. Smith is the Coordinator of Activities and Student Organization Center. Smith works a lot with the events as well as the RSOs. As the Administrator for the Bulldog Connect platform, he is also frequently helping students navigate the system.
Both Roman and Smith have found the transition to online events to be an interesting new experience and are still figuring out what works and what doesn’t.
“By that, I mean what are students interested in?” Roman said. “What time works for their schedules? What do they want to plan themselves?”
Roman said she has also begun feeling much more confident and having more fun with these virtual events after gaining some experience with the technology. Luckily, some events can continue in-person if they are outside and have under 100 attendees.
Based on their experiences so far during this pandemic, Roman and Smith have many ideas for running future online events. Their plan is to make the events more interactive by playing music while guests are entering, having surprise guests, holding mid-event stretches, as well as theming your zoom backgrounds. She also encouraged that students should change Zoom profile names to your full name and your pronouns.
If you plan on attending an event, make sure you RSVP on the Checkpoint App. This is how they will monitor the size of events and attendance. If you are hosting an event do not forget that you can still advertise with posters and information tables, even if the event is online. Lastly, test out Zoom or any platform you use prior to an event to make sure there are no surprise glitches when the event time comes.
You can find information on upcoming events held by CLACS on Bulldog Connect, the CLACS homepage, and the Checkpoint App. Some of the upcoming events include OMSS Get Acquainted Day on Thursday, Sept. 17 and the Student Stand Up Comedy Competition. The CLACS office is located on the UC first floor and is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
