Matilyn Kerr is the new program adviser for University Traditions. She advises the Hobo Day Committee and State A Thon. During her time as a student, Kerr was a three-year member of Hobo Day Committee.
Q: What did you do before becoming the adviser for University Traditions?
A: After graduation, I had an internship for about three months before I actually got a full-time position at the SDSU Foundation as a human resources generalist and I worked there until about a few days before I started this job this summer.
Q: What influenced you to return to the Hobo Day Committee as an adviser?
A: What peaked my interest in coming back is the adviser role was like a dream job, something that you maybe never knew that you had the opportunity to do. I thought quite a bit about it before submitting the application and going through the whole process. I knew it would be really fun to do, a great way to give back to the university and lend my talents and skills to the Hobo Day tradition.
Q: Which event and tradition in Hobo Week is your favorite and why?
A: That’s a tricky question because it’s like having to pick a favorite kid if you’re a parent. I would say I love the parade and there’s nothing quite like parade morning. It’s a lot of chaos on a very early morning and many things come together into the beautiful parade that all of our spectators get to witness. In terms of events, I absolutely enjoy Bum-A-Meal and think it’s a really cool concept that allows SDSU students to go out into the Brookings community and have the community members feel like they are a part of the Hobo Day tradition.
Q: What inspired you to join the Hobo Committee?
A: As an undergraduate, what peaked my interest in the Hobo Day Committee was my sophomore year… I was the Campus Relations Coordinator for Chi Omega Chapter on campus. Part of my job was to coordinate Chi Omega’s involvement in Hobo Day … I worked really closely with [the Hobo Day Committee], asked a lot of questions and certainly attended as many events as I could. The same year, 2012, Hobo Day came along and people told me that this is something I should really think about being on. So as soon as the applications came out for the 2013 Hobo Day Committee, I applied and the rest is history.
I served on [the Hobo Day Committee] for three years, first as their Communications Coordinator which is now a whole team of three people, back in 2013, it was just one position. I then moved on to become the Assistant Pooba, managing all the event coordinators in 2014 and 2015.
Q: When do you start the preparations for Hobo Week?
A: A common misconception about Hobo Day is that it just kind of appears in the fall and that’s it. But, truthfully, the committee for the upcoming year typically gets selected before the end of the current calendar year. … As soon as the spring semester starts, they start recruiting the new committee members. After [recruitment is completed], they have weekly meetings from about mid-February throughout the rest of the semester and start to learn all the parts of Hobo Day. They start planning [next year’s Hobo Day] right after the Hobo Day this year.
