Reflection: Volunteer Coordinator

Going into Visions, well, I guess going into the Thursday dinner, I did not know what to expect. I wanted to think that with all the work and effort we put into this event, that it would be spectacular, but then I realized that all we could do was make sure it was technically sound, be on time, etc. But when I got in my car and headed to Blue Surf, I remembered...there are about 40 more people that this depends on...who we don't know. (Or at least, I didn't know) And I thought, what if they don't see all the work we put into it, what if they have expectations that won't be fulfilled. But then I met them all, and they were amazing people. They were so humble and kind, and grateful. After dinner we ended up at Might As Well for a couple drinks, and I didn't realize I was sitting at a table with most of the award winners. And they were so incredibly cool and laid back. And Friday, when I found out who I had been talking to, it clicked, and it was so worth it. Every second of work, every long night of programming was worth it. Our guests MADE this experience for me, and I realized they were all young filmmakers and scholars, just like us.

Going into the day on Friday, I was sure of myself in regard to how I could handle the volunteers and make sure they did what they needed to do. However, what I was unsure of was the volunteers themselves. That was the most stressful part of the day, was not knowing them well enough to know I could depend on them. But they came through, which made my job easier. Well, easy. I was finally able to sit back and watch all the effort we put into it come to fruition with an incredible rewarding sensation. I was blown away. I felt more accomplished than I ever have as an undergraduate, because I was a part of something soooo much bigger than myself.

If I could do anything different, it wouldn't have been the day of the event. I would have made sure the call for volunteers was on the website from the very beginning of the semester. It would have made the rest of the semester easier for me leading up to the day of the event. But the event went by so well, I can't think of anything really significant that could have been better. The only thing that would have helped would have been for our volunteers at the door to know what to do if the event started running a little late, which it did during the keynote. That's it. Everything else was so smooth and professional.

I would say this has been the best thing I've done since being in college, and that's out of 5 years. I'm glad that I made the choices I did to lead me into this experience, because it has been nothing less than inspirational. I truly think the networking opportunities have helped me make new, potentially life-long friends in this field, and that is invaluable. This was amazing, and I'd tell anyone who comes after us to take this class and put the effort into it that we did.

Visions Eve...

So tomorrow is Visions, and I still have a few vacant volunteer positions. I can't look at this as a failure, because I am still making a push for commitments. I honestly think that given my inexperience in this type of job, that I have done everything I knew to do to fill all of the needed volunteer positions. I have found out that this type of job always comes down to how reliable people are. In retrospect, I think it would be a good idea to start thinking of volunteers during the first semester and plan out a way for volunteers to sign up through the website. That probably could have been done this semester, but I think having a call for volunteers on the website all year long would be a great way to ensure that all the position will be filled far in advance. Despite my presence at all of our outreach events this semester, and despite having 16 people sign up to be volunteers, I still don't have all of the positions filled. I went out of my way to talk to people one on one at our events to make sure they knew how great this opportunity is. I have done all I can, and will continue all day to contact people to make sure all the jobs are filled. Tomorrow is the big day. I'm looking forward to it, I'm really, really looking forward to it. :)