SAB Student Leaders Present at the 2014 NACA Mid-America Regional Convention
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 21, 2014) — Members of the Student Activities Board executive team, directors and committee chairs attended and participated at the 2014 National Association for College Activities Mid-America Regional Convention in Convington, Kentucky, in early November. NACA brings together student activities boards from universities across the nation to share ideas, build networks and view many types of artists.
Two directors, Melissa Simon, director of the Cultural Arts Committee, and James Collard, director of the Engaging Issues Committee, presented on Friday, Nov. 7, in the educational sessions.
Simon's presentation, “Breaking Down the Barriers: Arts Integration for Campus Life,” focused on three techniques to assist other universities in integrating art into their events and making these events beneficial to their campus community.
"Presenting at NACA gave me the perfect platform to represent the board and discuss my personal findings on the struggles of integrating the arts onto campus life and discuss with other colleagues on what they can do to further art programing,” Simon said. “It was very rewarding.”
Later in the day, Collard’s presentation, “#TrendingTopics: Engaging Students in Current Issues,” focused on educating universities on how they can bring innovative and effective events to their campus that give students a safe environment to discuss uncomfortable topics.
“It was such a great opportunity to be able to present what our board does in front of other boards from our region,” Collard said. “I felt grateful to be able to share the concepts of our #TrendingTopics program with other universities so they can better understand how to challenge their students on current topics and allow them to make informed decisions.”
Besides having two directors present in educational sessions, SAB also had other members present to serve as delegates. The delegates collected and brought back vital information that will help the board improve and program even better events.
“Personally, my favorite moment was seeing everyone be so involved when watching artists and performers to bring back ideas for our programming board,” Mark Taylor, director of market research, said. “Moments like that reminded me that SAB is really a team and truly believes in the four core values we have.”
SAB will have two representatives at the 2015 NACA National Convention. The convention is Feb. 14-18, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Collard and Olivia Senter have been selected to present at two of the many educational sessions after submitting proposals during the beginning of summer 2014. Collard will be presenting on Engaging Issue’s #TrendingTopics events, as he did at the regional convention, and Senter will be presenting on repositioning an organization’s brand image.
“SAB students are not only leaders here at UK, but also within the NACA community and are continuing to set the bar high for themselves and others,” Courtney McCalla, advisor for the Student Activities Board, said. “I am looking forward to seeing what they will contribute to the national convention and what new ideas they will bring back to campus.”
SAB brings more than 100 entertaining, educational and enriching programs that are reflective of contemporary issues and trends to the University of Kentucky annually. These programs are designed to enhance the college experience for students, faculty, staff and the greater Lexington community.
Connect with SAB at www.uksab.org, follow them on Twitter at twitter.com/UKSAB or Instagram at instagram.com/uksab or like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UKSAB. For more information about SAB and events, email contact@uksab.org or text a question beginning with SABQ, followed by your question or comment, to 411-247.
MEDIA CONTACT: Katy Bennett, katy.bennett@uky.edu, 859-257-1909
SAB CONTACT: Olivia Senter, publicrelations@uksab.org