Caroline Coulter, Author at

Posted on November 19, 2018October 30, 2018 by Caroline Coulter — Leave a comment

5 Tips to Running a Campus Event

Organizing a campus event can be TOUGH. There is a lot of planning, time, and communication that goes into getting any campus event off of its feet and running. You have to contact certain people, make sure your group knows what they need to do, get support for the event, and raise awareness of the event to get people to attend. So far in my college career, I have put on quite a few campus events including Dancing with the Profs, Orientation Board Off Broadway (a musical Cabaret performance), All Campus Cookout, So You Think GCC Can Dance?, and the Spring Dance Company Performance for the past two years. I have had my fair share of success, pains, and plans that have not gone the way I have wanted them to.

Dancing With The Profs Winner: Education Professor Connie Nichols

I am not the only student who has put on a campus event, and I am certainly not the last… So, if there is any knowledge that I can pass down I believe it can be summed up in five tips.

Plan early and plan well
- Planning should be done early. Ideally a few months before the event because you have to contact tons of people. To plan well, write every little detail out. It will make things easier down the road.
Make a list and stick to it
- Once you have planned out all of the details, figure out how to get those things done and make a “To Do” list for you to follow. Make sure you are following this list carefully and even setting dates for you to get things done by.
Do not be afraid to ask for help
- Chances are for most events, there are people who have done them before or who have put on similar events. Find those people and ask for more tips or tricks on your event to make things easier or to speed up certain processes. It is also helpful to have people give you assistance to lighten to load of stress that often comes with these events. Also, Student Government will contribute monetary funds to events to help contribute to the campus community.
Advertise sooner than later
- If you are holding an event, you want people to come to it, right?? Coming up with creative or strong ways to advertise will get people just as excited as you are to put on the event.
Do not stress the little things
- Things will go wrong, no matter what event it is. But it is so important to not stress the small things or you could lose sight of the big picture! If you forgot something or something falls apart, take a second to breathe and move forward. The way you handle the hard stuff is a testament to your character and will prepare you for the next time that may happen.

These five tips will not make for a perfect event, but it will help make your event planning and organizing go by so much faster and will be more enjoyable for you. Organizing a campus event can be a great way to contribute back to the vibrant community Grove City College has, and it is a rewarding experience that could help in the future with fine tuning various skills.

Posted on November 13, 2018October 30, 2018 by Caroline Coulter — Leave a comment

Confessions of an Orientation Board Member

Orientation Board (OB), the group of overly excited upperclassmen clad in crusty white T-shirts. Whether it was a question brought to the info booth, the screaming madness of move-in day, or the connection group “parent,” every student has encountered the infamous OB member. It seems that the reactions to OB can be very polarized, some feeling energized themselves by these people while others do everything in their power to avoid this group.

So, what is this group and what is its mission? This is a group of around 100 students who apply to be a part of Orientation Week at Grove City College. This diverse group forms in the spring, where the members prepare and pray for the new students even before they commit to Grove City College. The mission statement of the group is as follows:

Our mission is to show Christ’s love to new students on campus through relationship, service, and prayer.

The mission of OB is simple and has Christ at the focus, which drew me to want to apply along with how fun loving and outgoing this group was. The first year I applied, I was so excited and nervous to find out if I would be accepted and which of the five committees I would be placed on. I was lucky enough to be selected, which was surprising to me because it was a selective group due to the numerous applications OB receives every year. I was placed on the Religious committee, which I was not expecting, but has turned out to be one of my biggest blessings.

Being a part of Orientation Board for the past three years was a huge part of my experience at Grove City College, but I will not pretend that it was always easy. As energetic and crazy as the OB members may be in the first two weeks, the down time we have is cherished greatly. Many members of Orientation Board are extroverted, but many are more introverted in their personalities. Either way, it is impossible for anyone to be on the top of their game when so much is asked of the OB members over the first two weeks of school. From planning, setting up, executing, and cleaning up each of the events, things can get hectic pretty easily. The amount of running around and planning that happens behind the scenes is typically underappreciated. As a member of Orientation Board, I can testify to the fact that this is a hard job, but it is also so rewarding.

As much as OB works to serve the incoming students, the way this group works, also, has been able to pour into the other members of OB. Within the five committees of the organization, there are many opportunities to meet and invest in the lives of people you may not have met before. It provides a way to work with people towards a common goal. You meet people who care about you and your well-being, and that is seen from the time the committees form through the rest of your time at Grove City College. While some of the work is tiresome, I would apply to be a part of this every year I would be able to. Orientation Board has been a valuable and integral part to many students at Grove City College, and that is my confession.