Now that I am back at home and working on all the little things that come with getting life back to normal after a conference (buying real food, changing the oil in my neglected car, dealing with apartment complex issues, and exercising for the first time in weeks), I am working on mentally processing the entire event.  When I was trying to come up with 7QT ideas for the week, my brain was still primarily running in Student Leadership Summit mode. So here we go with a 7QT on all things SLS14.

1—Power Sessions

The Summit was a new conference design for us, based on the concept that our student leaders should be able to teach others about what they have learned by the time they leave.  This meant that essentially, the success of the conference was almost entirely based on the college students taking responsibility for the material they were learning in sessions and teaching it to their peers in their small groups. 

For said small groups, we have everyone gather in one massive exhibition hall in the afternoons.  There were countdown clocks running for exercises to keep them on track.  We worked hard on the design of these “Power Sessions,” but there was still the chance that everything could break down into complete chaos.

Perhaps one of my favorite moments of the entire conference was during the first of the Power Sessions, where we watched the students teach each other, pray with each other, and collaborate, all in a very peaceful way.  It was beautiful, and the first thought through my head was, “It’s actually working!” Way to go, Student Leaders. 

2—Adoration Night

Always one of the most beautiful and powerful nights at any of our conference for the attendees, this night was actually a very powerful one for me.  You see, this conference came together against some odds, with a few battles, and a lot of hard work.  But taking a moment to pause in prayer with 2,000 others, while many lined up for hours for the Sacrament of reconciliation, I saw how beautifully God was working in these students’ lives.  I was so moved, and do you know what? I would do it all over again to give the students that gift. 

3—Miracle Flights

SLS took place January 3-7 in Dallas, TX.  As you may recall, while we were wearing our light jackets deep in the heart of Texas, the rest of the country was experiencing winter at its finest (worst?).  The Midwest was frozen solid with below 0-degree temperatures, and the Northeast was in a blizzard.

It just so happened that two of our speakers are with the Sisters of Life in New York.  I prayed fervently that they would be able to make it, or else… an open keynote slot?! The night prior to conference, they called and let me know that theirs was the only flight not canceled so far, and they were doing everything possible to try and make it.  I went to bed so nervous that night, as I was sure they would have a canceled itinerary.  But I woke up the next morning to a voicemail saying they were on the plane, and I nearly cried from joy!  They were the first (and possibly only) to leave Newark that day.  The Sisters of Life prayed their way to SLS!

One of my sub-committee heads for speakers was stranded in Chicago with a canceled flight as well.  Dana heard someone yell out, “Anyone want to go to Houston?” She impulsively hopped on a Houston flight and grabbed a rental car to get to Dallas on time. 

4—Panel Discussion

Another something new for us this year was a “TED Talk” style closing keynotes.  We heard from Helen Alvare, Patrick Lencioni, and Joe Hensler, three individuals who live out the faith in tremendous leadership roles in our society.

After all three talks, our President, Curtis Martin, joined them on stage for a panel discussion.  That was a whole lot of inspiration in one room!

5—Entertainment          

I always love working with bands.  Coordinating shows is one of the favorite parts of my job description, but not for the reason you might think. There are so many moving pieces to coordinate both ahead of time and the day of a show.  It’s like a puzzle that you work to fit all of the pieces together so the day runs smoothly.  Having done shows for both L’Angelus and Matt Maher before, this time was vastly more fun! I was better able to anticipate needs and create a better schedule for the day, and of course, they are all fun people with which to work.  It’s great to meet the people I have been emailing for months and see those who I have worked with previously and catch up. Shout and special thanks to missionaries Jonathan Sanchez-Hidalgo, Zach Tucker, and David Hickson for their selfless gift of time the whole day doing work with the best servant leadership attitudes ever!

We also worked with a talented team from the Dallas Comedy House who put together a special improv/sketch show for us with some FOCUS-specific humor and special guest appearances by some of our top speakers.

6—Team Life

In general, the events team has a lot of fun together, but there is nothing like being on-site and enjoying (yes, that’s right!) the event that we have put so much of our efforts and time into creating. Because the event ran so smoothly, it gave us extra time to talk, eat together without having to run off, have drinks together, and observe the event as it unfolded. We were also able to get some quality time with our “extended members,” the missionaries who work on-campus but help us run events on-site.  What would we do without them!  Overall, it was a great conference experience and time well spent as a team. 

7-Join us next year!

While not SLS-related, I just had to include a sneak peek video for next year's national conference, SEEK 2015.  Have a look!

1
Well, as of yesterday, I am officially one year older. It was a “Thai, pie” birthday!  I came to work to all of these decorations. And then my team and I all went out for Thai food for lunch—pineapple fried rice- Yum!  Speaking of yum, Christina made a delicious apple pie!  Then I went home to more Thai food, peanut curry made by my roommates, and cherry pie.  I was a full, happy, 23 year old.  And perhaps the best part of the day was Skype with Javi, a call with Mom, and a call with Scott.  Just lovely. 

2
After seeing those pictures, you may be thinking, “that office knows how to party!”  Indeed we do.  The events team knocked boss’s day out of the park this month.  However, we missed Wombat Day last week, as we were just unprepared. Well, there is always next year.  And just so you are not caught off guard, Wombat day is October 22.

3
In two days I am off to the Rejuvenate Marketplace Meeting Planners’ Conference in Daytona Beach.  It will be 4 days of non-stop conversations with vendors and venues, and hopefully a collection of a lot of great ideas from the event planning industry.  Be prepared for an upcoming post about reverse trade shows and Soledad O’Brien. 

4
Last Saturday we had a “Fall day” excursion to a pumpkin patch in Boulder followed by butternut squash macaroni and cheese for our fall dinner party. It was a great day of fellowship and everything autumn. 

Joining me in the picture is Michelle Lippoli, the guest contributor from my last post. 

5
Check out this video! It’s the trailer for the reality show on EWTN that followed students at our last SEEK national conference. 

6
This is fun. See what state best fits your personality. You know it just sparked your interest.  I turned out to be Montana.  I could see it fitting as far as my desire for calmness and my introverted nature.  But am I considering a move to Montana?  No, thank you.

7
It is Friday in the office, our bosses are gone, and we are getting antsy.  Our solution? Shoot a team video, of course.  I will consider sharing the completed version later.

 

—1

My entire events team just got back from our on-site planning trip to Dallas for our January conference. I would love to go into the beauty of the Hyatt Regency, and how much I love meeting and working with different CSMs (conference services managers).  Our CSM, Rizwan, has been helpful, and he tells us the funniest (and interesting) things.  I would love to elaborate more on his ideas to take over Wolfgang Puck Five Sixty atop the Reunion Tower with my co-worker Sean—naming their masterpiece of cuisine “Sean, Rizwan, and Puck”—sorry, Mr. Wolfgang, they have you outnumbered. I would love to elaborate on just how much steak my team can eat, how we found the floating JFK memorial, and just how much we make each other laugh.

But I will leave it at the basics. We came. We saw. We planned. Now I would like to get some sleep.

—2

Okay, so maybe you would like some more detail, and I would love to give it, but it is truly so hard to sum up how lucky I am to be doing an event planning job I love, and working with people who are just so great.  So here are just a couple snap shots from the trip. I’ll put it this way, we work hard, but we have a lot of fun, too.

—3

While in Dallas, I also was able to spend some time visiting my cousin, Clark, and his girlfriend, Meghan. They made me some amazing pork chili—I didn't leave with the recipe, but I haven’t given up on it yet.  I rarely get to see my cousins, so any chances we have to sneak in a visit are a must.

—4

I am very sad to see our fellowship of the Catholicism Series end next week.  Tuesday nights, our lovely friend, Kate, was willing to host us for dinner, wine, time with some wonderful women, and a video from the series. It was one of the most recreational activities I have taken part in for quite some time. It is just so rejuvenating to learn about your faith, eat great food, and laugh with friends—fellowship and warm hospitality at its finest.

—5

Thankfully, I have another study starting up to take its place. I will be gathering with a couple of other friends to read St. Teresa of Avila’s The Interior Castle. I’m sure this book will really shake things up.

—6

When I woke up this morning, it looked like this outside. So much for fall…

 —7

Has anyone ever talked about the fact that sometimes finding 7 whole things to write about is really hard?  I have officially decided to make 7QT and every-other-week project.  I really enjoy writing, and I am finding this to be a good outlet, but it is hard to keep up with sometimes. So instead of sitting down at the keyboard to quickly bang out a Quick Takes, I would like to give it more time so that the whole experience can be more of a leisurely experience. 

But I do have an exciting post coming up next week! Stay tuned for something theological, feminist, witty, and empowering from myself and guest contributor, Michelle. 

                                                 — 1—      

I am thrilled to be taking part in my very first 7 Quick Takes! Why I am so excited?  Because perhaps my favorite blogger is the creator and host of 7QT. Jennifer Fulwiler is the author of  conversiondiary.com. I have read her blog for years (seriously), so I this feels like quite a blogging (w)rite of passage.

                                                 — 2—      

Also exciting (perhaps just a little bit more exciting than number 1)—the wedding is officially ONE YEAR FROM TODAY! Or as my friend, Cesca, put it, today is my negative-one year anniversary. Yes, in 365 days, I will be a Mrs.!

I am very much looking forward to it, and I am also excitedly looking forward to reviewing my vendors. Some have been so amazing to work with that I truly want to tell people how wonderful they are in order to bring them to more business. However, there has been one in particular that has been horrible as far as their business know-how goes, and I would encourage people to think twice about them.  Sorry I can’t disclose who is who, but I have still have contracts out. More to come next year, I guess. 

                                                 — 3—       

Living in Colorado, these past few weeks, I have learned that keeping an umbrella in the trunk of your car is not at all helpful.  As I’m sure many of you know, as the flood waters decrease, there is still much damage and people who have been displaced. Please do what you can to help people affected by the flood in CO, most especially, keeping them all in your prayers. 

                                                  — 4—       

I got nothing done last night besides making dinner and talking to people.  Even though when I first thought about it, I felt like nothing on my to-do list really got complete, I realized there is nothing better than feeling connected to some of the people in your life that matter.  I only wish I had the time to talk to everyone I miss so much!

                                                  — 5—       

I am quite resistant to technology change. And frankly, I don’t know much about the technology that exists now. That being said, I still cannot decide if I want to upgrade my iPhone to iOS7. It looks cool, but different, and I don’t know how I will warm up to that. I like some of the features, and group messaging looks great, but I’m still so undecided. Anyone love or hate it? In the meantime, I will be scouring the Internet researching for something to sway my option. 

                                                   — 6—       

Not only do I not know much about technology, but apparently I am just prone to destroying it. Long story short, I can’t keep lattes by my keyboard anymore. Having a sticky keyboard to clean this morning might be ok if this was the first time it had happened… or even the second.                                               
                                                   — 7—      

This video has been getting a crazy amount of hits. A co-worker showed it to me about two weeks ago, and I can't believe how much buzz I have seen surrounding it since. Not only that, but within our events team, it has come up a lot-inside and outside of the office. 

My friend who student taught in Norway said their educational system has a great emphasis on creativity. Apparently so. In case you are looking for something to make you laugh this afternoon...                                             

Well, with that, happy Friday!