beloved: USC

Showing posts with label USC. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

honors convocation 2011

Every year, the USC Thornton School of Music holds their annual Honors Convocation, an awards ceremony that recognizes students, faculty, and staff for their outstanding achievements. This was my final event for the school year, and as with every event I've coordinated, it came with its own set of challenges and learning experiences.

It's always a challenge stepping into the role of planning an event with a lot of history. For me, Honors Convocation was on its 56th annual, and with that, comes a certain expectation from all the faculty and upper administration of how it's supposed to be done. I'll admit -- my approach to this event wasn't the most organized, nor the least stressful. At the same time I was "researching" how the event was done in the past, I was also trying to plan the event simultaneously. Everything for this event happens comes together in the time span of about a month and a half -- invitations, programs, flowers, musicians, etc. -- and at the same time I was also trying to put the finishing details on Singers on the Verge, which added an extra challenge.

Instead of being proactive in nature, I was reactive -- immediately responding to every request or change that was thrown my way without thinking if it could wait, or notating the changes. The result was feeling like I had a million disconnected thoughts and tasks floating around in my head. There was no method to the madness, it was just madness. Let's just say I learned the importance of creating a detailed timeline with specific deadlines (even if they're estimates). The process not only helps you organize your thoughts, but it allows you to think through all the details you'll be coordinating upfront so they're on your mind as you move forward. That way, questions that come up as you plan can be addressed ahead of time, not as deadlines are quickly approaching (or past). I ended up creating one halfway through April, and instantly I felt more at peace and collected about the event, but I know it would have been a lot less stressful had a taken the time to think everything through carefully from the start.

Thankfully, the entire event came together very smoothly, the students and faculty received their awards, and 1pm on May 12, 2011 I finally breathed a sigh of relief. It's crazy how quickly this year has gone by -- I never would have imagined a year ago I would be planning the events I used to drive carts for as a workstudy student, and on top of that plan two weddings on my own. Definitely excited for all that the rest of 2011 has to hold!

All photos credit of Dan Avila Photography.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

singers on the verge

Taking another break from beloved weddings (as much as I love them) and talking a little about one of my favorite work events so far -- Singers on the Verge. I would definitely say that all my hard work leading up to the event, the late night in the office the night before printing off signs and running through all the details, definitely paid off.

When you're doing an event at a location as beautiful as Camino de Robles (the private home of Madeleine and Edward Landry), it's hard to go wrong. I felt so blessed to have the opportunity to go to their home nestled in the Simi Valley mountains, let alone coordinate an event for some of our major donors and friends there.

On top of the amazing view, the weather was a perfect start to what would be a very successful evening. Because the house itself was gorgeous, as was the surrounding landscape, there was really no need for me to bring any additional floral decor (a good tip to keep in mind if you're looking to save money on an event -- pick a location with decor already built into, such as a garden). That being said, set-up was a breeze (no pun intended). We put up a few signs directing people where to park, thanking the Landry's for donating the wine, champagne, and sparkling water, set-up the check-in table and I was ready to go.

The delicious food was catered by Absolutely Gourmet Catering, owned by Brion Clarkson. Thankfully they have catered many events at the Landry home, so it's no surprise that everything went so smoothly. All of the staff acted so professionally and delivered gourmet tasting food at a great price. She designed a menu that was casual, yet elegant in presentation, the perfect combination for our event because it allowed our guests to truly feel at home and comfortable. Guests got to enjoy sliders with chipotle aioli sauce, sweet potato fries, a cheese platter with bake brie, crudites, chinese chicken salad in to-go containers, mini cupcakes, and assorted dessert bars. This event reminded me how refreshing it is to work with vendors that I can trust 100% to deliver without feeling like I have to do everything myself (not that I don't check every detail) but all I have to do is literally check. I would definitely recommend Brion to any of my clients in a heartbeat.

After about an hour of eating, drinking, talking, laughing, the guests moved into the foyer entrance where 10 of the best students from the USC Thornton Opera Program performed a program of opera and musical theatre pieces including "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini, "Flower Duet" from Lakme by Leo Delibes, "Quintet" from West Side Story, and an emotional close from the entire company with "Make Our Garden Grow" from Candide. The acoustics in the house allowed for a low production performance -- no mics or speakers necessary. The sounds of their amazing voices echoed throughout the house and were a great reflection of the talent that resides in the students that attend the USC Thornton School of Music. Definitely made me proud to be working to support these young musicians.

The performance ended just in time to grab some dessert and enjoy the sunset overlooking Simi Valley -- a perfect end to a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Maybe it was the beautiful day, maybe it was the amazing view, maybe it was all the hours of preparation. Maybe it was my attitude towards the event. Seeing the smiles on people's faces, their pride in being a part of something bigger than just themselves, and to know that I was successful in creating an atmosphere of peace where people could fully enjoy themselves -- that brought me the greatest joy.

It was a great reminder for me -- that I'm not just doing an event for the sake of getting it done, or because it's my job. But I'm planning events that are purposeful, that create change, for both myself and the people I'm serving -- donors, brides, or friends.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Flora L. Thornton Courtyard Dedication and Open House

Thursday, February 3, 2011 -- It was a beautiful day in February. Though a bit chilly for an outdoor evening event, I was grateful for the 0% chance of precipitation on the weather report that morning. The whole event was coming together quite nicely, save for one really important thing -- enough power to support all the lighting we installed on Wednesday afternoon, and an electrician that was proving to be very difficult to track down.

Every event I've planned for the music school has come with its own set of challenges, but for some reason I felt a lot more pressure from this event than Dickens. I think part of it was the added pressure of making sure this high-profile event not only represented our school well, but also represented Flora L. Thornton well, the individual whom our school is named after. The other part was the fact that there was no "template" to how this event was done because this was a one-time event. You could say that this was the first time I had to take someone's vision (in this case the Dean) and make it a reality -- student guided tours, an art gallery of Flora's paintings, an unveiling, carnival lights, etc.

One thing I learned from this event is how important open lines of communication and transparency to my team are to running an event successfully. It's not enough that I know everything that's happening during the event, because realisitically I can't communicate that information to all the guests simultaneously. The more my team knows, the better they can serve our clients if they happen to have questions or concerns when I'm not readily available. Not only that, it creates another layer of accountability to ensure that no details fall through the cracks.

All that being said, we thankfully got power around 2pm, (just 3 hours before the event) and the event went very smoothly. Guests including the USC Provost, the Thornton Family, and many of USC Thornton faculty and staff came to celebrate the exciting milestone for the music school. The night began and concluded with student-led tours of our new facilities as well as an open gallery of Flora L. Thornton's paintings -- a hobby not many knew she had. Guests enjoyed delicious crepes and champagne before joining the Dean and the Thornton family for the unveiling of the letters put on the courtyard. Below are some pictures from the evening -- enjoy!

VENDORS

Catering: Crepes Bonaparte
Drinks: USC University Club

Banner: AAA Flag & Banner
Lighting: Classic Party Rentals

Rentals: Classic Party Rentals

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The 24th Annual Charles Dickens Dinner

December 10, 2010 -- The culmination of six months of hard work has finally come to completion and I could not be happier about the event. The Charles Dickens Dinner has been on my radar ever since I stepped foot into the USC Thornton School of Music as a work-study student as a freshmen in the fall of 2006. Little did I know that 4 years later I would be in charge of making this event a success.

I don't think I've ever worked so hard on any event. Ever. And in the week leading up to the event, I think it's safe to say my mind was thinking about Dickens 24/7 (and maybe still is -- hello 2011). Literally. I had an ongoing to-do list in my head, a desk that was covered with brightly colored post-it notes (If you don't know already, I love bright colors so the bright colors definitely help make the to-do lists less daunting. And putting a huge red sharpie check mark once they're done -- best feeling ever.)

I think one of the measures of a successful event planner is that way in which they react to problems once an event has begun. There are two options -- freak out and stress everyone else out in the process, or react in a calm, positive demeanor. One of my goals as an event planner is to treat people with respect and manage others with a positive attitude because I've found that people respond to direction better when it's not coming from a power-driven and demanding place -- and hopefully my team felt that throughout the planning process.

The best thing someone can say to me on the event day is that they felt at peace, and relaxed. My job is to ensure that everyone else involved doesn't feel stressed out. So hearing how relaxed everyone was, how relaxed the Dean was, that it was "the smoothest Dickens" from a banquet captain that's done the event for 3-4 years and my boss, that I looked so calm -- it was all extremely humbling and overwhelming.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine to have planned an event of such capacity at the age of 22. I think I'm still in shock at all that I've accomplished since graduating -- its been 6 months and I've planned two weddings and a major fundraising gala.

The Dickens Dinner was not only a success for the Thornton School of Music, but also a huge milestone in my career, and for that I'm extremely grateful.

Needless to say, this event would not have been possible without the help of an amazing team. I couldn't even begin to take credit for all the work because the reality is it was a team effort. Thank you to everyone who helped -- I could not have done it without you!

For additional coverage of the event, read this article by Alice Dubin of Biz Bash -- Crowd of U.S.C. Musicians Enlivens Annual Fund-Raising Dinner

Merry Christmas everyone!