Events at Saint Vincent College

It has been another busy week at The Conference Center, with so many events going on throughout campus. The madness started last Thursday with our first check-in of the weekend for the Undergraduate Bioinformatics Conference. Luckily, there were not too many people that needed to check-in that day, but our weekend was just warming up. My day started off at 11 a.m. Friday and I was ready to go for my 12 hour shift.  Between airport runs, set-ups, check-ins and events, we had our hands full.

The first check-in we prepared for was the Lay Missionaries of Charity (LMC) who were holding their National Retreat on campus Friday, May 31st through Sunday, June 2nd. There were about sixty people from across the nation who traveled in for the weekend. The events crew did airport pickups that day from Pittsburgh and Latrobe to bring in guests for the retreat.

Just as we got settled with the LMC check-ins, there was much more to come. Friday evening was also check-in for the 2013 Men’s Steelers Fantasy Camp. This event hosted over 300 men, who stayed on campus for the weekend and participated in speeches given by former Steelers players, drills and practices on the football fields, team meetings, a skills competition and the awards ceremony to finish out the weekend.

I was assigned to work room check-ins on Friday evening, where I was able to meet some pretty awesome fans; fathers and sons, brothers, friends and even entire families showed up more than ready to start off their weekend. For some, it was their first time, while others were returners. Not only did the fans check in but former players like Willie Parker, Chris Hoke and Frenchy Fuqua also stopped by to get their room keys for the weekend. It was great to see some players come out and share their experiences with the guys and even train them during the practices.

After everyone was checked in, we had one more set-up and a tear down to go before the end of the night. With the help of the summer crew here, we managed to get a set-up done in the Fred Rogers Center to fit all of the fantasy camp men on Saturday afternoon, and tore down a set-up for Prep Reunion in the atrium of the Dupré Science Pavilion.  We ended our night around 11:30 p.m. Even though it was an exhausting day, I had so much fun working with the 4 other students on the summer crew. We had done so much work and stayed positive throughout it all.

The rest of the weekend went pretty smooth with only a few set-ups on Saturday that needed to be done along with some office work. We prepared the Fred Rogers Center for the Prep Reunion Alumni Awards Dinner that was scheduled for Saturday evening along with a conference set-up for LMC to use on Sunday morning.

On the PR end for this week, I have put together a social media plan for The Conference Center to use for their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest accounts. I will be handling most of the social media for the summer, but hopefully the social media plan is something that can be implemented throughout the future. I have also been working on information and a design for the Conference Connection, a summer newsletter for The Conference Center that features various bits of information from around campus as well as events that have happened and details for future events. The newsletter has a feature article on the cover page as well as recipes and cooking tips in the center spread.

Even though things have been pretty calm this week, I am preparing myself for another hectic week at work. This time, I will not be directly working for The Conference Center but rather, I will be welcoming future Bearcats onto campus for their Academic Orientation from June 10 through the 13, and then it will be back to another busy weekend at The Conference Center.

The days that involve large events with hundreds of people on campus are definitely fast pace with a lot going on but it makes a long day of work go much faster. I am still learning so much in the process and I am excited to continue through the rest of the summer.

Hey everyone! My name is Loretta Bobetich and I will be entering my senior year at Saint Vincent in the fall as a Graphic Design and Communication double major. For the summer, I am interning with The Conference Center at Saint Vincent College and will be focusing on public relations and social media. I will also be helping with office work, set-ups and events on campus. I am excited to share my experiences working at The Conference Center and living on campus!

It has officially been three weeks into my summer job with The Conference Center and I have already been a part of so much. You would assume that a new job would offer a few days of training and some logistics at first, you know, the pretty basic stuff. Instead, my first day on the job was Commencement set-up 101, no big deal or anything. With about 15 of us, we managed to do set-up and clean up for both the Senior Dinner on Friday evening and Commencement on Saturday. Both consisted of table and chair set-up (a lot of chairs), stage set-up, drapery and décor. After the dinner, the entire gym was broken down and reset for commencement the next day.

After lining chairs and numbering for hours, things started to come together. Even after a long night, we were all proud to see the work we had done in such a small amount of time. The next day was commencement and it was all hands on deck. With the wonderful volunteer staff, and all the other departments on campus, we were able to pull off a smooth event. I have always considered myself a hands-on kind of person who is quick to learn, and this event really tested those skills.

My next few weeks of work in the office and at the Fred Rogers Center seemed like nothing compared to my first few days on the staff. I have been able to settle into my summer position, but I know that there is much more to come; from what I hear, June is one of our busiest months. I work with a great staff so I am sure it will all go well!

So far on the PR side of everything, I have worked on The Conference Center’s social media pages, helped redesign their summer camps and conferences campus guide, and designed some advertising. 

I can’t wait to see what comes next and I will be sure let you know.