Written at the time of joining: During my senior year of high school, I applied to the Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium, and to my joy, was accepted. At the beginning of the year, I was not entirely sure what part I would play within the Consortium but I knew I wanted to do something. I decided to start by attending some of the events put up by the Space Grant program, including the poster session for students who did Undergraduate Research over the past summer and other social events. After a student run planetarium show, the S.P.A.C.E members offered up clipboards to sign up for committees, and as a result, I put my name on a few lists and I am now part of the social event committee! I am excited to learn about event planning, coordination and have new responsibilities such as budgeting. We are working to bring the Space Grant community closer and assist students in improving communication skills through events. Look down for highlights on some events we have done in the past!
A small reflection:
Looking back at my time in the Space Grant Social committee, I can proudly say it was one of the most influential aspects of my undergraduate experience. By deciding to join the social committee, I was introduced to (and am still in contact with) some incredibly inspiring students (some not graduated) who have been peer mentors, friends, and colleagues.
Serving as chair for the Social Committee for three years introduced me to a role of mentorship for incoming committee members. I always learned how to be a leader and to direct and delegate tasks. I honed my cross-functional skills each week, communicating my committee's tasks and needs with other officers at our Admin meetings.
At the end of my third year, I passed the torch of the Social committee to a younger peer. Helping them with the transition was a great experience, allowing me to kind of reflect on what the position meant to me, and how it could be adapted to reflect the evolving needs/wants of the community and of the next social committee chair. Seeing what they have done in my last year with the committee has been amazing! Navigating the transition to online activities couldn't have been easy, but they've done an amazing job!
Our Annual Winter Party
Every year, the S.P.A.C.E organization puts on a winter party to celebrate the holidays with students in the Space Grant community! I served on the social committee for three years, two as as an officer. The Winter party would have some of the best turnout of the year and provided students with a space to relax, play games, and exchange gifts!
I remember the Winter Party was always a great break from the darker and rainier months of winter quarter. Some classic games we would play were Pictionary on the whiteboard, lots of Jackbox games, various board games, and Jeopardy!
Below are some of the invitations we would send out to people!
We would have so much fun we always forgot to take actual pictures!
Murder Mystery Party
One of my favorite events that the Social committee put on that I was a part of planning was our Murder Mystery Party. We knew we wanted an event that was fun and creative, but also one that could help improve communication and speaking skills for the people participating!
The event comprised of about 10 students, where we were each assigned a character in a murder mystery story. We ended up role playing for hours! At first, we were all a bit awkward, but it was beautiful to see everyone get into character as the night progressed. People got more confident in their improvisation and communication skills. It was amazing that we were able to host an enjoyable way to encourage people to practice communicating in an arguable limited and difficult manner!