Story Time with Allison: University Program Board

Hey Everyone!

Today I thought I'd try something that I've seen on numerous vlogs and blogs that I frequent - story telling.  I know that doesn't exactly seem like much, but for many people, it is a way to connect on a more personal level with their viewers or readers.  So here it is!  The first edition of "Story Time with Allison!"

Growing up, I always heard stories about my parents' college days.  How great they were, the fun they had, the people they met, and, their experiences on the Board of Programmers.  As a college freshman, I did not feel as welcome as I had expected to be by my roommate and the people in my immediate vicinity.  I was overall not happy in school and had begun doubting if it was even the place for me.  Until, one day, I came across a hiring ad for University Program Board.  And the rest is history.  I was accepted into UPB as a P.I.T. Crew member (Programmers in Training), and at the end of the year became a member of the film committee, the committee responsible for running the on-campus movie theater.  Today, I am the Administrative Chair on that committee, and I am currently training for my position next year on UPB's Executive Board as the Administrative Director.

Now that I've joined UPB, I have met some of my closest friends.  All of my closest friends from JMU are all people that I have met through University Program Board, and I couldn't be happier with my decision to join.  I can't even imagine how my college experience would be different if I hadn't joined.  And while it is always fun to tell people that I'm a "second generation" programmer of sorts, that is in no way why I joined UPB.  I applied because I was looking for a niche - a group of people that I could be myself with, and that would make me feel welcome at JMU, and allow me to get more involved in the university community.  Being a part of the film committee as opposed to any of the other committees on UPB always seemed like a natural fit for me, and now that I'm about to leave the committee for my Exec position, I can't imagine having been on another committee.

So far, with my time on UPB I have seen Bridesmaids before it was officially released to the public in theaters, gotten into a Jason Derulo concert for free and stood next to him as "security" while he signed autographs, and next week will be working a Passion Pit concert.  Not to mention the countless number of matinee movies I've worked on, the number of popcorn batches I've popped, and the number I've free movies I've seen and the amount of free popcorn I've eaten. 

Is UPB a lot of work?  Absolutely.  Does my job on UPB sometimes make me want to pull my own hair out?  Definitely.  But is it worth it?  You bet it is!