Student SPHere 2008-09

Photo by Pat Connolly

I survived another week! Last semester, that was a nice little thought that popped into my head on occasional Friday afternoons. This semester, it’s a miracle.

On Wednesday, I ran to a meeting of the Twin Cities World Refugee Day planning committee, something I joined last year through my job at a community health nonprofit. I was the chair of the marketing committee – and spent the probably two months leading up to the June 20 event running around like a headless chicken.

Because I didn’t know what I’d be doing with my life at planning time this year, I pulled all of my materials together in a super-organized, tabbed binder, wrote notes and instructions and contacts and tips for each section, and handed The Marketing Bible over to a colleague to pass it on to my successor when planning started up again this winter.

Little did I know that it would again be me.

Some other planning committee members signed up to tackle marketing, but unfortunately, none of them are able to chair the committee. And since I was the one left holding the big binder, I guess it’s back in my hands. Oh boy.

Planning last year’s event was a fantastic experience, and while I got sucked in (at least to this level of commitment) rather involuntarily this time around, I’m excited to get going. I can’t think of anything else I could do to add so many distinct skills to my toolbox – and, yes, my resume. I work with a large, intercultural, inter-generational committee made up of staff and volunteers from refugee- and immigrant-serving organizations all over the metro. I have no real boss, teacher or direction, so I have to teach myself how to pull off marketing for a big (1,500-2,000 people last year) event – and then do it. And in the process, I have to jump in and help with things totally not in my area, from ordering/assembling tents and tables and chairs to figuring out why, exactly, it matters what size generators you order. I worked with printers, reporters, t-shirt makers, educators. And, somehow, made it all happen.

Not surprisingly, I’m a little worried about the time commitment this year, but the rest of my committee is great and I think (hope!) I’ll be doing a lot less of the work myself and more just making sure it all comes together in the end.

Sure, I learn a lot in class, but sometimes there’s nothing like getting out there and getting thrown into the fire.