Name: Sumia Hussain
Year: Senior
Major:Allied Health Science
What was your position with Spring Weekend and what did it entail?
How did you get involved with Spring Weekend?
I actually got involved the fall of my junior year. The Student Activities department was hiring coordinators for the second spring weekend program and I wanted to get involved. I applied for the Marketing and Promotions position and became a co-coordinator. I learned a lot about marketing and PR from that position and it really sparked my interest in the program.
What actually goes on behind the scenes?
There is a lot of planning that goes on behind the scenes to make sure that the Spring Weekend Coordinators–myself, Derek Evans and Matt Murray–can help make everyone’s events run smoothly. The student coordinators work with our Program Advisor on the budget, communicating with various departments coordinating with all of the event planners and reaching out to organizations to collaborate for marketing and promotional purposes as well. This year, the Skydiving team at UConn wanted to jump onto campus and do a demonstration. There were tons of meetings, emails and calls that had to be made to coordinate that and I’m glad we were able to do it! Shout out to our Program Advisor, Eric Bouchard, for being the man who made it happen!
What was your biggest challenge this year?
The biggest challenge this year was probably keeping up with the sheer volume of events and all of the details that needed to be handled. It taught me a lot about being organized and I learned to be very detail-oriented. Student groups put a lot of work into planning there events and I would hate to miss any crucial details that would effect their events.
What was your favorite event?
I had a lot of fun at Spring Weekend this year and all the events went so well! I think that I was most presently surprised by a lot of the new events that were incorporated into Spring Weekend this year like the Japanese Student Association’s Cherry Blossom Festival. It was a well planned event and I learned a lot about different cultures! I also loved seeing the Cultural Center Open House event this year grow from last year when a Spring Weekend committee member and I started the event last year. This year, we not only had 7 participating cultural centers and organizations, but USG also co-sponsored the event and supported the #itStartswithUS campaign to bring light to social justice issues on campus.
Overall, how do you think this year’s Spring Weekend went?
Overall I think this was one of the best Spring Weekend events I’ve ever been to. I saw Project Fashion’s Spring Show, watched the UConn Skydiving team jump onto the Great Lawn, got to see a circus show at the food truck festival and even went to a free Adam Devine comedy show. Of course, I am biased, but I genuinely had a lot of fun!