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!
