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Event Planner Extraordinaire

Douglas Gilchrist-Scott '09

Douglas Gilchrist-Scott '09
Biochemistry
Greenville, NC
dgilchr1@swarthmore.edu

"I thought that helping put on large concerts for the student body sounded fun and rewarding, so I decided to apply for the Large-Scale Event (LSE) committee when I was a freshman. After being on the committee for a year, I jumped at the opportunity to serve as the LSE coordinator because basically it was a chance to get paid for something that I already loved doing.

"For me, the trick to balancing LSE work with school and other extracurriculars is scheduling. I make goals that I tell myself I will achieve, and then if I do, I reward myself with something fun. The largest time commitment for LSE events is the day of the show and the weeks preceding that. There are a lot of logistics that need to be taken care of. But when I see the results of our committee's hard work culminate in an awesome show that brings out the entire campus, that is the best feeling in the world.

"LSE coordinator is a great job! First, it is practical. I've learned how to work with many different people for a common goal, delegate different responsibilities, and oversee the production of a large-scale event. These lessons are different from the kinds of things I learn in the classroom, and I think that they will help once I reach the workforce. I expect that my LSE experience will be extremely valuable to employers when I graduate.

"Secondly, it's fun. I get to meet famous bands, comedians, and speakers. And what's more, I've learned all about the artist's quirks, such as their preferred drinking water temperature and what brand of toilet paper they require. In this position, I have privilege to information that others would never see, and we all know that secrets are fun."