In college, just like elementary school, nothing is better than a field trip. I recently had an opportunity to go on a field trip, but not just any field trip: a 3-night trip to Buffalo with the Campus Activities Board for NACA (National Association of College Activities) Mid-Atlantic.
As the Marketing chair and Nightlife co-chair of the Campus Activities Board (CAB for short), I already get to have some pretty awesome experiences here at Naz helping plan and run events on-campus. In high school I was very active on student council and prom committee, and I have always loved working behind-the-scenes of events. As a member of CAB last year, and a leader of CAB this year, I am always looking for ways to make the events at Naz exciting, engaging, and inviting to all students. There is no better feeling for me than seeing students having a blast at an event that I helped plan and facilitate. So, when I learned that every year CAB sends some of its executive board to a regional conference called NACA, I knew I had to be there!
Now, if you’re like me, you probably read the word “conference” and thought, no thanks. To me, conferences usually evoke images of boring lectures and doing weird team-building exercises. However, I was to quickly learn that NACA was definitely not that kind of conference.
My journey to NACA Mid-Atlantic began on Thursday morning. I had been a typical college student and stayed up until 2:30AM doing homework, so I was tired but ready to go. Our first stop was Dunkin’ Donuts – obviously- and then we hit the road to Buffalo. Upon arriving, it was pretty clear that NACA was not a typical conference, especially since one of the items they gave us at check-in was a selfie light. Yes, a selfie light – like the kind you clip on your phone to make your selfies come out better (and yes, it does work).
For our first event, we sat down at a table in front of a big, lit-up stage, and the first thing we did was play Bingo- musical Bingo, to be exact. I quickly realized that at NACA, instead of sitting through lectures, you enjoy amazing performances, instead. We watched singers, bands, magicians, slam poets, dancers, psychics, motivational speakers, comedians, and more. And best of all, we were able to book several of our favorite acts to come to Naz later in the year!
After watching some awesome performances, I figured it was time to get serious, right? Wrong. Instead we moved on to Marketplace, where we got loaded up with free stuff, got to meet the performers we had just watched, and I held a very large snake named Athena. After that, laden with free stuffed animals, t-shirts, bracelets, flash drives, pens, candy, hats, chapstick, tote bags, CDs, magnets, and pretty much anything else you can think of, we made our way to dinner to load up on food, too.
The next two days started early and went late. We saw more performer showcases, attended more marketplaces, and went to educational sessions, as well. However, the title “educational” did not make them boring. I learned a lot about executing major events, booking artists to come to Naz, and how campus programming can impact the school in unexpected ways. One session I attended was focused on diversity, both past and present, and how we as the Campus Activities Board can encourage diversity at Naz through the programs we create.
Overall, my experience at NACA was unforgettable, and definitely worth the lost sleep. We laughed, we cried, we bonded as a team, and most importantly, we learned! CAB even won a Spirit award for our social media participation at the conference! I’m so grateful for the opportunity to go on trips such as this, and can’t wait to take all that I learned and help create the event programming here at Naz! CAB is always looking for new faces and new ideas, so whether you are a senior or an incoming freshman, you will always be welcome at our meetings and, of course, at all of our events. We would love to have you!