I had the pleasure of helping to put on the Leadership Institute Alumni Dinner during homecoming week! To put this on, I worked with Kristina Slifco, Emily Wessel, Jenna Theisen, Jessi Repko, and even my mentee, Megan Argenta. A few weeks leading up to the event, we planned the dinner at Mountain Town Station & Brewing Company, and came up with fun elements to add to the dinner. These even included a fun photoshoot spot, complete with a background (which was a major hit that night).
Throughout the evening, as I walked around taking photos, I observed so many hugs that you could tell were long-awaited. Nearly everyone who walked in, did so with a huge smile on their face as they noticed their long-time college friend across the room that they haven’t seen in months, or even years. I saw people deep in conversation, catching up, sharing drinks, more hugs, taking photos in front of the backdrop, and many many many laughs. Looking around, I realized that this night held a very precious thing: lasting connections made through the Leadership Institute. Everyone that was there had one thing in common, and that was the L.I.
I found myself thinking about the future, and how one day I’ll be coming to an event just like this one, hugging people I haven’t seen in ages. We’ll probably hear Dan share stories in his evening speech, share drinks, and reminisce. It made me realize how important these college connections are, and that just because I’m not going to be around my LAS cohort the rest of my life, that we’ll still be connected. It made me really appreciate being able to see them now, and that I should take advantage of being able to see them while we’re all still on campus.
Overall, it was a very successful night and the team members that I had beside me made it even more successful. We had great communication and a good dynamic that made the night go smoothly, and our ideas to come to fruition. For the most part though, the event showed me that I want to use the remaining time that I have here to really strengthen those connections I’ve made here in the past few years, so that I have no regrets and that they carry on long past graduation.
