Tanya Marsh

The SDSU University Program Council [UPC] won two arwards, shared ideas and viewed potential performers for the SDSU students at a national conference in Grand Rapids, Mich.

The conference included plenty of fun activities. UPC president Kelly Bickel said, and the team from SDSU won two awards.

“We got made an All-Star delegation,” Nick Wendell, publicity and graphics coordinator for UPC said. “We were one out of ten to be named that. [The conference organizers] felt like we epitomized what they wanted to accomplish,” he said. “We showed high enthusiasm, we attended all the workshops.”

The other award the team received was first place in the showcase display competition.

“We set up a promo table just like we would in the breezeway,” Bickel said.

Since the display was one very similar to the ones used on campus, she said that she was pleased the efforts were recognized.

“It made us proud that people were impressed by things that we’ve done and the events that we’ve held,” she said. “Getting an award for it made it really special.”

The group spent a lot of time getting ready to serve the students at SDSU.

“It’s a conference where we get to see different performers and artists,” she said. “We got to see abbreviated performances. It’s kind of like shopping.”

The acts to choose from included bands, comedians, singer/songwriters, Mexican artists, and even a pair of Siberians with a lot of strange instruments.

Bickel said she feels confident that first-rate performers were selected for SDSU.

“We know that what we’re brining is quality, because we’ve seen them first-hand,” she said.

Finding top-notch performers wasn’t the only part of the conference designed to help the universities. Wendell said the group attended “ed sessions” which offered ideas for promoting university events.

The timing of the conference, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3, made for some interesting times, Wendell said.

“The first night, it was Halloween and we had a costume competition. We dressed up as a calendar,” he said.

Since all 12 members of the UPC board attended, the calendar worked out perfectly, with each member representing one month.

The SDSU group didn’t stop dressing up once Halloween was over.

“We dressed alike each day,” Bickel said. “One day we all wore our UPC shirts. We also wore our Hobo Day shirts. The last day we had all this Hawaiian garb that we wore.”

Because of this, Bickel said, even in a sea of 1,300 students from 137 schools, SDSU was noticed.

“We always stood out and people always noticed us,” Wendell said.

The awards, costumes, and learning made the 13-hour drive worth it.