I was nervous walking up to the 3rd floor of the library building and into the Advancement office Wednesday morning. I had prepared a pitch for my supervisor to request to participate in the student rally happening at 1:00 PM that would address faculty and the administration be held accountable for perpetuating institutional racism and to take direct action in order to hold up two of the institution’s core values, equity and diversity. However, when I walked into the office it was dead silent. None of the staff were working in the offices, and after checking a couple calendars it looked like everyone’s days were packed with meetings that were unrelated to what was currently happening with the students who would be gathering in just a couple hours to make their voices heard. All except for an all-hands-on-deck meeting, scheduled just 45 minutes before 1:00 PM. Assuming I would most likely be walking into a meeting with the entire advancement team to discuss damage control. I have my own very strong opinions about what had been happening and felt compelled to advocate for students, but was scared of crossing professional lines. Especially since our office works very closely with some of the staff connected to the perpetuation of anti-black institutionalized racism. 

Sitting down at the big table for our meeting, the VP of Advancement expressed how saddened she was by the state in which the college was in and how important it is to support our students. She said she would be supporting students in any way possible during the rally happening at 1:00 PM, and opening it up for us to go around the table to share our thoughts and how we were feeling about the events that had taken place the previous day. As each person went around and shared their sentiments it echoed many thoughts and feeling I had personally had. It felt really incredible to be surrounded by a staff of people who felt so compelled by students actions and the amount of support took me by a little bit of a surprise, having not known what other’s stance in the office would be. When it was eventually my turn to share I took it as a moment to sound off about what wasn’t being said and to provide a student perspective on what I had been witnessing and hearing from me peers. Nervous that I was crossing the professional boundary with many of the issues I was bringing up in relation to the president’s office, which we work very closely with. After I was done speaking I was met with appreciation and really felt the perspective I had shared was listened too and received wholeheartedly. During the protest, a few of the staff ran to Jay’s Farm Stand to get fruit and water for the students occupying the third floor. We opened our doors to students. It made me incredibly proud to be part of a team that bolsters students voices, and are willing to show up to support them.  The entire Advancement team cleared their schedules for the rest of their week to focus on how to best support students durring these turbulent times.

For this event I have been responsible for managing the guest list, making nametags with an Evergreen graphic, double checking Spelling and preferred names, and ordering the beer that will be served. The beer order was a fun task to take on and was an opportunity for a collaboration with the brewery I work at downtown, Three Magnets Brewing Co. Since they are alumni owned and make delicious craft beer, it only makes sense that we would want to serve their beer at Evergreen events. Bellow is a picture of 3 cases of the Ledge Sesh IPA and 3 cases of Yo Yo A GoGo Belgian Dubbel I hauled onto campus.

On event day I will be responsible for setting up and checking guests in.

This week my assignment was to create two themes that could be used for Evergreen’s next Gift of Giving Gala. When theming an event the most important factor is to keep in mind who the event is for. Catering the look and feel of your event to its audience is key for a successful event. My first theme was a Greeners World Fair where guests would be given a passport at check in and each assigned table would be themed to a different country with information on students and alumni making a positive impact in that area of the world.  My second theme was Under the Salish Sea. This would highlight the indigenous people’s history of the pacific northwest as well as the important connection Evergreen has with neighboring tribes. This would include blue lighting projected on the ceiling to make it feel “under water” as wall as other nautical northwest decor. Bellow are a link to my two vision boards that I created when presenting my themes.

Click here to check them out!

The advancement event coordination team has been working quickly for the past two weeks to put together a couple events for the Traveling Court that will be visiting and holding court at The Evergreen State College on May 8th and 9th. It is an opportunity for students to learn more about the judicial branch of government, and to get an intimate look at the workings of the state’s highest court. Our role in this event is to plan a “Green Room Luncheon” with Evergreen students interested in law and the legal system and for Supreme Court Justices to have conversations with these students. After Court is held on the final day there will be a reception we plan, where the Justices, bailiff, Staff from Advancement and the Presidents office, some Evergreen faculty, local lawyers, and the board of trustees to have drinks and mingle with one another.

An event proposal is a tool used to frame the execution of a project. This is a document that houses everything involved with an event from start to wrap up. There are many variables that need to be considered when creating an event proposal. This usually will include the scope of the event (i.e. a number of people attending, date and time),  audience, goals, budget, venue details, key personnel, event staff, a communication plan, vendor information, decor, program, and a timeline.

For this practical exercise, I was given the guidelines that this would cultivate and steward relationships with donors who have given $500+ to the college. Additionally, donors are invited to bring guests who may be interested in being philanthropically involved with the college. Other then these guidelines the sky was the limit, so I got a have some fun thinking of the endless possibilities that an event like this could encompass. I settled on a  Summer concert and BBQ. Bellow I have included an attachment of what I came up with.

Summer BBQ and Concert Project proposal 

Last quarter I began an event coordination internship with Evergreen’s manager of special events, Correan Barker. This was my first experience working in an office setting, and being part of a fundraising events team. I joined the team during a turbulent time when they were in the midst of executing Evergreen’s largest annual fundraising gala. Having learned an incredible amount about what it means to professionally plan fundraising events, and acquire many new skill sets in just 5 short weeks, I was excited to have the opportunity to extend my internship into Spring quarter. This quarter began with a debrief of all the upcoming events,  as well as outlining some goals and expectations. I will be working alongside Mr. Barker to aid in brainstorming for events, as well as assisting with set up and logistics. I will also be given weekly practical exercises to allow me to understand the full scope of the event planning process.