Fit2BTide S08.E02: University Programs

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Wvuafm, tuscaloosa. [00:00:09] Speaker B: Happy Sunday, y'. All. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 the Capstone. And my goodness, it is Labor Day weekend. Maybe you're listening to us en route to the lake. Or maybe you are on a fancy boat with listening to the radio, like, on the water or just doing something super more luxurious than me and you sitting here in this radio station. [00:00:31] Speaker A: You know what's really funny? Two things came to mind. This is how my brain works on an afternoon. Number one, when you said, you're on a boat, I went immediately to, was it akon and like lonely island boys, I'm on a boat, remember? Or like, T pain. Okay, that was my first thought. [00:00:44] Speaker C: Yes. [00:00:45] Speaker A: My second thought was you said en route. And I was curious how many different ways people say, is it on route or on route? Like, is. Is it different? [00:00:54] Speaker B: I don't know. And honestly, sometimes. Okay, this is I. And I'm just going to be very transparent and honest. There are some things that I realized that I have missed. Person pronounced my life, because I went based on how my parents said it with a very heavy Filipino accent. So sometimes I don't know if I'm saying things because there actually are multiple ways to. [00:01:15] Speaker A: Because you said it differently. [00:01:17] Speaker B: I did. [00:01:18] Speaker A: It was very different. And I was like. [00:01:19] Speaker B: And I was like, why did I do that? So another example with that is, instead of saying millimeter, my dad always used to say millimeter. And so I would say that in math class and people would make fun of me. And I was very traumatized from that. And four, fourth grade. So isn't that funny? [00:01:37] Speaker A: Anyways, well, funny story about that with me. My mom would always make up, like, funny little words and names and things that I just thought were things. And she made up this one thing when there's, like, a bunch of chaos, it's chidimony. She would just say, it's a bunch of chinimony. And I don't know if that's a thing or not, but I said that in front of somebody one day, and they're like, what are you talking about? I was like, we don't like chaos like chittimony. And they're like, that's not a real word. You made that up. And so I think it's funny how your childhood shapes who you are and the things that you say. And I don't know, I think it's pretty funny. [00:02:06] Speaker B: It's like that scene, mean girls where they're, like, trying to make a Word like fetch or whatever. You know, we just need to think of some phrases. Anyways, I'm going sus. [00:02:16] Speaker A: I didn't know what that was until last show. You said. I went, what? What are you talking about? [00:02:20] Speaker B: And I only used it because I would hear my interns use it and I was like, what is? What is sus? [00:02:26] Speaker A: We learn so much from that. [00:02:27] Speaker B: And then I would. And then I tell my, you know, 40 something year old husband and he'd be like, wow. So anyways, we're old. I don't wanna say we're old. Cause we're not old. [00:02:40] Speaker A: No, we're not. We're super young. [00:02:42] Speaker B: Absolutely. Okay. So what have you been up to this weekend? [00:02:45] Speaker A: Oh my gosh. Well, being a long three day weekend, I'm super pumped that I only have a four day work week. [00:02:51] Speaker C: Yes. [00:02:51] Speaker A: And then I'm heading out of town. [00:02:53] Speaker B: Where are you headed? [00:02:54] Speaker C: Orlando. [00:02:54] Speaker A: It's the yearly trip. [00:02:55] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:02:56] Speaker A: Gotta go play. [00:02:57] Speaker B: Okay, so Disney World. Okay. [00:03:00] Speaker C: Epcot. [00:03:00] Speaker A: Epcot. All of it. Food and wine festival. [00:03:02] Speaker B: Okay. I was about to ask. Okay, what is your favorite cuisine? Like, as far as I know, you like the Asian stuff. [00:03:10] Speaker A: The Asian stuff's my favor. But now that I have dabbled into eating fish, now, I wouldn't call myself maybe. Well, I haven't had fish in a while, but I think I would try some of the little fish dishes. Maybe like in England, like fish and chips and stuff like that. But I don't know, I go back and forth. You know, when you're a vegetarian, you dive in a little bit and then you kind of like, oh, that's too much. You pull it back. Need veggies. [00:03:33] Speaker B: Well, I'm just gonna live vicariously through you for sure. But before we just go off on all different types of things, we have a great show this afternoon. As we always. We have an amazing guest today. And, you know, I think one of the big things, especially at the beginning of the semester, is really talking about how our campus community can plug into different things, opportunities to be able to socialize and connect. And so I'm just gonna leave you on a cliffhanger here because we gotta go to a break. [00:03:59] Speaker A: We gotta do it. [00:03:59] Speaker B: So grab something to drink. Do something fancy in your boat. Whatever you're doing, you're on a boat. You really need to fit to be tied with Sheen and Whitney on 90.7 capst. [00:04:15] Speaker C: Wvuafm tuscaloosa. [00:04:24] Speaker A: Welcome back. It's Labor Day weekend and you're listening to Fit to be tied. What else is there to do on Labor Day weekend. Yeah. We hope everybody's been having an awesome time this fall semester. This is only our second show. [00:04:36] Speaker B: I know. [00:04:36] Speaker A: Wow. [00:04:37] Speaker B: Yes, I think. So we decided to strategically start our recordings a little bit later just because we wanted people to get into the groove of the semester. You know, certain. I think for us as professionals, we always like to see how our schedules shake out. So it's worked out. I know. Last week, we talked to y' all about some different health and wellness tips that we found from the Internets. You know, we're kind of highlighting the ones that we felt really hit on target and then other ones that were more outside of the box. But today we are going to be talking about university programs. And so our guest is Paige Acker, who is the director of university programs. And, Paige, thank you for being with us this afternoon. [00:05:18] Speaker C: Thank you. Excited to be here. [00:05:20] Speaker A: Y' all are super busy on your side of campus. Like, I just have to stop and say, like, every time I have to go to the stew, which is what we're calling it now, the stew. And I have to go into the restroom, and I look at the. The back of the door. I'm like, university programs at it again. [00:05:35] Speaker C: Yes. We have the prime real estate of advertising in all the bathrooms. So if you go to the bathroom in the stew, you've heard about us, is what I tell people, which usually gets a weird look until I explain that we have bathroom flyers and all that, which is the least favorable job of our student team. They are. Yes. Whenever I'm like, hey, guys, I have a special task, they're all like, no, we know it's the bathroom flyers, not the bathroom. Not the bathroom. [00:05:58] Speaker B: Please don't. [00:05:59] Speaker A: Yes. [00:06:00] Speaker B: Well, Paige, I. You know, before we start talking about all things university programs, we have to know about you specifically. You are no stranger to the show, but because our show is so popular and we get new listeners all the time, you know, we have to kind of get them up to date with, you know, your background and all that kind of good information. Would love to hear about your academic background and your professional background prior to taking the role that you have now. [00:06:25] Speaker C: Yeah. So I graduated from Alabama. I'll age myself a little bit, but back in 2010, and have a degree in public relations minor, computer science, and didn't really know what I wanted to do. I just knew I didn't want to have to move back home with my parents. Love my parents. Shout out to them. They're amazing. I don't think they wanted me back either. And so I kind of just started looking for jobs and kind of stumbled my way into a job at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and just kind of loved higher ed and realized that this was a career that I could choose as a profession. Went to graduate school at Florida State University, got my master's of science in higher education, and then started working full time in higher ed. So I've worked at large public institutions, I've worked at small private, faith based institutions. But I have been working, I realized the other day, I've been working in student programming for 10 years. And so both full time and part time as a master's student, but have been doing that for 10 years now, which is kind of crazy to think how many events. And last week I was like, I'm very tired. Just as we had wrapped up our weeks of welcome, you know, every time September hits. So when September 1st hit, I was like, I am very tired. And, you know, I kind of joke that I keep getting older, but college students stay the same age. And so, you know, I said something the other day to our students about that, about the iPhone. I said, well, you know, I was in college when the iPhone was invented and they're like, jaw hit the floor. And so like you said, I'm not old, I'm just wise kind of thing. I'm older. But yeah. And so I've been working in student programming. I was the director of student activities at Stanford University before moving back to Tuscaloosa. And I've been with this month will be four years with university programs. Oh, wonderful. Have loved being back here and it's definitely a different experience than being a student here, but have just loved what I get to do and the students that we get to work with. [00:08:24] Speaker B: I have to know, how was fsu? Just out of everything you talked about, I guess I had not remembered that about you. So I'd love to. What was that experience like? Did you. I mean, do you have any love for them at all when it comes to sports? Or do you feel like that was solely a business transaction getting that master's degree there? [00:08:43] Speaker C: Yeah, a lot of people say, you know, why did you go to fsu? And I say, because they paid me to go. Yeah. And so a shout out to anyone listening that is considering going to graduate school. Somebody will pay you if you find the right opportunities. And I tell our students all the time we will be happy to help make that happen. But I loved it. They have a great higher ed program. It's over. It's an older Program. So they've been around, really established great resources as far as athletics. I have always cheered for Alabama. That's kind of the first cut, runs the deepest kind of thing. But really enjoyed my time there and still have a lot of friends and now kind of colleagues in the field that I met during my time. So definitely no regrets and no student debt from that time. So that was the best. The best part. Best part of that. [00:09:27] Speaker B: Okay, sorry, I just had to ask that. [00:09:29] Speaker A: No, that's a good question. I was kind of curious. Like, fsu. Okay. [00:09:32] Speaker C: Yeah. It was my mentor. When I was at uah, I had a mentor who told me, hey, you know, higher ed is a thing you can do. And her sister had gone to Florida State, and so it just kind of found its way onto my, like, list of programs I was interested in. And, you know, it's one of those things where you look back and you're like, wow. One conversation really kind of shifted and, you know, changed, and I went and visited for visiting days, which a lot of programs do. You know, you get to visit and just kind of fell in love with people and fell in love with campus and really, really liked the education program. [00:10:04] Speaker A: I was just thinking, it's so interesting how this is a career that we get to do in student life, you know, because I think about, like, with the rec center, when I started out in fitness, it was like, oh, I'm gonna work at a gym. I'm gonna work at a health club. And then I was like, oh, wait a minute. I can do what I love in this realm and teach students and work with students. And so if you're listening and you' you should get a student job on campus, specifically in student life, maybe the rec center. I'm just kidding. And try it out, because, I mean, you can make a career. I'm curious, Paige. What do you like to do for fun? [00:10:35] Speaker C: What do I like to do for fun? [00:10:36] Speaker B: When you need a break? [00:10:37] Speaker C: When I need a break? Oh, man. I like to hike. I like to hike a lot. I've done three marathon hikes in the last couple of years with Make a Wish, Alabama. So shameless plug for that with the Trailblaze Challenge. And so you raise money for make a wish, Alabama, and also train, and so you hike 26.3 miles in one day to kind of raise awareness. So I love to hike. I like to travel. I like to read. I'm in school, so that takes work full time. So it takes up a lot of time. But I feel like, you know, very cliche Cliche. I just like to spend time with my family and my friends and just, you know, really, I love sports. So very excited that football season kicked off this weekend and, you know, all that, the fun chaos and the traffic that that, you know, brings to town. But that's all right. That's true. [00:11:26] Speaker B: Yes. [00:11:26] Speaker C: But, yeah, I think that very. Just anything that kind of lets me be with the people that I really care about and try to get outside. I don't have a window in my office, so anytime I can get in the sun a little bit. And I'm doing a fitness challenge with my friends right now, so that has taken up a lot of my free time. [00:11:44] Speaker B: I mean, I just, I love the fact that we get to hear about Paige as a person. You know, just, you know, the things that you value, what, you know, that academic trajectory. And like you were saying earlier how, like, conversations with people shape the future. I mean, my goodness, like, it led to, like, where you decided to go for grad school. And I know in a little bit we'll be taking a break and then we'll be going heavy hitting with university programs. But as far as your role, specifically with university programs, tell us a little bit about what that entails. [00:12:16] Speaker C: Yeah, so I oversee our department, which is four full time staff and 31 student employees. Very, very happy. For the first time in, like a long time, we are not hiring. We have all of our positions filled and we have a great team. And so I supervise that team and we are responsible for planning and executing events for students on campus. And so we. And really my role with that is really making sure that all those things happen and supporting everyone. I like to kind of think of my role as I'm kind of like the protector, like I kind of the keeper, you know, at the door to make sure that nothing that shouldn't go out gets out, and nothing that shouldn't, shouldn't come in, comes in. And so I kind of serve as both their advocate. You know, I kind of joke with my students that I may fuss at them, but if anybody asks, they're amazing, which they are. But, like, you're never gonna catch me, you know, saying. But I think that really it's our job, my job to empower the staff and then they empower the students to be able to be able to execute and make the things happen. [00:13:15] Speaker A: And I know we're coming up on a break, but, you know, what is the role and mission of university programs? Like, just in a nutshell, I know there's a lot that you guys Do. [00:13:23] Speaker C: But, yeah, so we actually. We have a mission statement that we redid this summer because we felt like we didn't have something that really encompassed who we were. And so our mission is we create engaging events where all students feel welcome, find support, and build community. A lot of people, you know, are always like, well, what do you consider a successful event? Is that a lot of people and I consider a successful event where people feel safe and they feel welcome. And I feel like maybe they met one person that they didn't know. And if that means that five people had that experience, then that a successful event, or if that means that 3,000 people had that experience, then that's a successful event. So it really kind of just depends. But we want to be a place where we help campus feel a little bit smaller and help people feel like no matter who they are, no matter what identities they carry, that they are welcome and supported at what we do. [00:14:10] Speaker B: I love that. And, you know, I know again, we're about to go on a break, but when we get back, we'd love to talk about the specific programming that y' all do. Some of your signature events. And so while we take that break, you guys use the restroom. Do what you gotta do. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 to Castone, [00:14:33] Speaker C: Wvuafm, Tuscaloosa. [00:14:42] Speaker A: Welcome back, friends Real estate to be tied. And y' all don't hear us during the break, but usually, like, we just talk about random stuff. And I was not gonna say stuff just then. I had to catch myself. But we talk about all kinds of random things. And we were talking about how we think Page should totally be on TV or be, like, a news anchor because your voice is very suitable for the radio. And Sheena was asking, you know, like, the. Like, the tone or like, I guess the diction of your voice and, like, where you're from. You're from Louisiana, right? [00:15:09] Speaker C: Yeah, I lived in Louisiana. I was born there and lived there Till I was 13, and then my family moved to Alabama and so spent, you know, growing up in Louisiana, but then high school and everything. [00:15:19] Speaker A: Lived in. [00:15:19] Speaker C: Actually in Tuscaloosa. [00:15:20] Speaker A: Yeah. You don't really have a Southern accent. [00:15:23] Speaker C: Accent. [00:15:23] Speaker A: It's very. I mean, at times, I guess, just like a little bit of Southern. [00:15:27] Speaker C: But sometimes. Sometimes I'll try to. If I. If I'm on the phone and need a favor. Yeah, if you turn on the Southern accent a little bit, people tend to. People tend to help a little bit more, you know. [00:15:38] Speaker A: Thank you so much. [00:15:38] Speaker C: I really appreciate that. [00:15:39] Speaker B: Absolutely. And there's a counseling technique just through the counseling courses that I've taken as a dietitian and sometimes mirroring the addiction and the energy level of the person that you are speaking with. And so my husband says that I have like a bad habit with that when I'm talking to people on the phone. He's like, were you talking to someone really southern on the phone? Because somebody just came out of your mouth that I just have no idea what you're talking about. He's like, you were dropping y' alls like nobody's business. And I was like, I don't know. [00:16:16] Speaker A: It just happens, you know? [00:16:17] Speaker C: It does. [00:16:18] Speaker A: It just happens. [00:16:19] Speaker C: Yes. [00:16:19] Speaker B: Okay. But now we're getting back on topic. So talking about university programs and you know, Paige, you mentioned this before the break, talking about having a full load of student staff right now. I'm actually curious, what is the interview process like for your students? Because I feel like they are so charismatic, have great energy levels. You know, certainly they're very active on your social media when they talk about what's up for the week, all the different events. And you know, I'm sure you probably look for like certain types of students and probably a variety of students, but I didn't know if that interview experience is, you know, something that you guys have fun shaping as students apply. [00:17:01] Speaker C: I mean, it's. Honestly, it's pretty basic. We have an application, we have our job descriptions online. And we really. Something that we really try to do is make it very clear what our expectations are from the beginning. So before they apply, we have it online and they get to pick what students teams they're applying for. And then we interview everyone. We just have found that especially as students that are maybe in their first or second year, they just haven't had the experience of making a resume or filling out an application. And they're who they are. Doesn't really come across. And, and so we interview everyone and really we just do about 10 minutes and I don't know, I, I guess maybe it's good instincts or, you know, something like that. But we kind of pick them. We talk to them about what are they actually interested in doing, what are their long term goals, how could this play into that? And then we select which team we think they would be best. We obviously ask them, hey, you know, if you were to rank, which team would be your preference? What would you prefer? And we try to obviously give them that, but sometimes we're like, no, you'd be A better fit here. And it kind of just seems to work out. And I think, really, I think that our students, really, the success, I think, comes not necessarily from the interview process, but from our training and the way that we kind of approach their employment. We take what we call a values based student employment approach. That's not like an actual thing, that's just what we call it. Essentially, we as a team, professional and student staff, we identify five values every year that we think are university programs values. And so some of the things are like community, diversity, honesty, flexibility. And then we make all of our decisions and all of our programming based off of those things. So if it is not upholding our values, if a decision is not upholding our values, then we shouldn't be making it. And so I think that they buy into that and they know that like, they're part of this and they're part of, you know, creating this experience for students and their peers. And then we hold them accountable, you know, along the way. I kind of jokingly tell them, no boss is ever gonna love you like I do, but I'm gonna, I would be doing you a disservice if I let you leave here without making sure that we've taught you everything that you should know. And so far, our students that have stayed with us through graduation have 100% job placement. And you know, we help them find jobs and find success. And that's obviously, you know, that's attributed to a lot of things. Our campus partners in the career center and we make sure they know about those opportunities. And so I think that that kind of all goes to it. I really, I don't even know how we find them or how they really find us, but we've been really lucky. [00:19:38] Speaker A: Sounds like it kind of organically happens like almost like the ones that are meant to do that type of job, that have the energy and they want to involve people, they just kind of come to you. [00:19:48] Speaker C: And I think that's the thing too is like a lot of people, because we've had a lot of people who are like, oh, how do you find students? Or how do you get students to be excited? And I mean, it sounds really cheesy, but like, we're just nice to them. Yeah, I mean, we, I treat them, I, I treat them with the respect that my, I treat my professional staff with, but I don't hold them to the same standards. This isn't their full time job. You know, like, you have to show them a little bit of grace when they have things going on and Then they tell us, right? You know, if they're going. Going through, you know, a family crisis or a personal crisis, you know, we know. So that we're not, like, why weren't you at work? You know, we can go through that with them because we're not in the bit. Nothing we do is life or death. And so they are people to us first and then employees second. And I think they know that. And so when you treat people that way, they then want to. They want to serve, and they want to be a part of what you have going on. [00:20:37] Speaker B: I feel like everybody, everything you said, literally, we can finish that statement with a hashtag. Thisisstudentlife. Everything that you described in terms of how you interact with the students, how you recruit them, how you keep them motivated and you support them as they leave ua. That's what student life is all about. That's what our division of student life is. That's just the heart of it. So I think the fact that you really articulated that in a way that is so tangible is amazing. [00:21:10] Speaker A: Well, and I'm curious, too, do a lot of the students that come to you guys, have they been involved in programs that you've done? They're like, oh, this would be a really awesome job. And then they're kind of recruited by other students, or are they just, like, the fate aligns and they happen to come your way? [00:21:26] Speaker C: It really varies as I'm, like, thinking about our different students. I've got a few students that. [00:21:33] Speaker A: So when we. [00:21:34] Speaker C: In August of 2020, going back a couple years, we didn't have any students. We had no students. We were having to rehire our whole student team. And I hired 10 freshmen, like, their second week of school, and I was like, they have no experience. But I really. I was like, I just think if we can find people that we can invest in right away, that is going to pay off. And now they're juniors, and they're our team leads, and they are, you know, not all of them have stayed. You know, some of them have had different opportunities, but the, you know, the ones who have stayed, the five or six who have stayed, are some of our core leaders and have really seen this vision and this shift in our department, you know, over the last two years. And so I think that some of it is we, you know, we just kind of advertise and they found us. And then we have some people who, you know, that they met someone at a UP event and said, hey, I'm really interested in this, or. Or they saw our Instagram and wanted to be on it or, you know, I think it just depends. It's very rare that somebody applies that doesn't know anything about us. It happens, and we will take them, but it's very rare that that happens. Or they've never been to an event. But some people, you know, they're like, I just want to get. I've never been involved, and I really want to get involved. And this feels like the right way. And so it really kind of. It just kind of varies. Some of our students are highly involved in a lot of different things. Things, and some of them are only involved in this. And so, you know, I like all of that. I think that there's benefits, you know, to both experiences. [00:23:09] Speaker A: Do they ever come up with programs, like, brand new ideas or, like, I want to do this, or do y' all have a. Like, a streamlined process for, like, you have the programs that you always tend to offer. But do students ever come and say, we like to do this, and it's totally wild. And you're like, well, we could. I don't know. [00:23:28] Speaker C: I really try not to say no. Unless it's like a risk management thing. Right. But, yes, we do have our signature events every year. So we have Script Day, which we just had a couple weeks ago, which is the class picture on the. On the field at Bryant Denny. And we have, you know, things like trivia nights or, you know, that we're always going to kind of have in rotation when you do as many events as we do. But we really do encourage our students to come up with at least a few new events or a new spin on an event. I mean, when you think about student programming, there's very few original ideas. I mean, there's just only so many things you can do. It's kind of like, you know, children's birthday party themes. There's only so many themes. Disney Princess, right? [00:24:10] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:24:10] Speaker C: You know, like, you know, Zoo Safari, all that kind of stuff. But. And so it's kind of the same thing with events, but I always challenge them. What can we be doing a little bit different or what could we. What kind of experience can we add that would make it, you know, unique? But we have a team, our programming team, which is a subset of our student staff that. That is. Their job is to come up with the events, and that's what they spend their time doing and working with different vendors and getting quotes and kind of really seeing, okay, what would this look like? And so normally, it might be. We had an event a couple weeks ago. It was Retro night. And so it was partly silent disco, which we've done before, but then it was partly. [00:24:49] Speaker B: We. [00:24:50] Speaker C: We basically had a giant Just Dance game where we rented a big inflatable screen and you got to play just dance using your phone. So it wasn't just two people. Your phone became the controller. So that was a new element that allowed more people to be involved in the event and kind of partake in their own way. So it's things like that where it's like, it's not necessarily a brand new idea, but it's like, how do we make something a new experience for students? But also, a university cycle is four years, and so if we haven't done it in the last four years, it technically is kind of new, you know, new to them. [00:25:23] Speaker A: I like the way you do it. [00:25:24] Speaker C: You know, new to them and new to us. And so we try not to repeat ideas in a calendar year, in an academic year. Sure. But sometimes we do stuff and they're like, we have to. Students are like, we have to do this again. And so it's like, you know, give the people what they want, if they want to come out, and they're enjoying it. You know, why not? [00:25:40] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:25:41] Speaker B: No, I love that. And, you know, I know we've got to take a break. You've mentioned some programming, but I want to talk even more about that. But you guys, you are listening to Fit to be Tied with Sheen and Whitney on 90.7 the Capstone. [00:25:56] Speaker C: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa. [00:26:05] Speaker A: Welcome back. We are listening. We are, of course, we are Fit to be tied. And y', all, Labor Day weekend. I'm kind of pumped because I'm listening to Paige and all these fun things that they get to do in university programs and all of her staff and how they put these programs on together. And kind of during the break, we're talking about the Script Day event, and y' all had millions of people there, and y' all were taking up a lot of space. UAPD was. We did. [00:26:29] Speaker C: They were great. UAPD was helping us out to get. Yeah. We had our largest Script Day event on record that we have found. We had 3,000 students come and help us make the class picture. And it was great. It was really cool. They got to hear from some athletic coaches. They got to hear from President Dr. Bell and Dr. Hood, our Vice President for Student Life and SGA President. So they got to kind of have kind of their official welcome the night before class. And then everybody loves a free T shirt and a picture and to get to Hang out in the stadium is always fun. [00:27:01] Speaker A: You know, I was kind of telling you guys during the break, like, I feel this shift in our culture, people wanting to be more engaged. Yalls numbers have been outrageous. The Rec's numbers have been crazy. I'm sure y' all have had people come coming to your events as well. It's just. It's very refreshing because I think it kind of helps us remember why we are here in student life. And it's the hustle and bustle. It's like, I feel like two years ago or three years ago, before the pandemic, it's feeling like that again, you know. [00:27:26] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. [00:27:27] Speaker B: And, you know, when I was thinking about the Script A event and really all the hands that had to be involved with that, you know, what kind of campus partners are y' all typically partnering with for some of your events? I didn't know if there's some kind of standing partnerships that y' all consistently have throughout the semester or anything along those lines. [00:27:48] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, it really depends on the event. So the night before Script day, we had Bama Jam, which was our kind of welcome back concert and things like that. And so for an event like that where we're bringing a lot of vendors in, obviously we're working with, you know, local companies and vendors, but we're also working with our on campus partners. Like UAPD helps to, you know, obviously our top priority priority is student safety. We work with risk management, who helps make sure that, you know, all the. All the T's are crossed and the I's are dotted with legal stuff. And then we also work with different offices like parking and transportation services. And I'm trying to think just a variety of campus. We partner with, you know, organizations and departments throughout the year. Our goal is not only to highlight the events that we're doing, but we want to be kind of a hub that if there is an event on campus that we are, you know, a place that you can find out about it. And so we both financially support events as well as different resources. So we work with almost every department in student life and then with a lot of departments outside of student life as well. [00:28:49] Speaker A: I was curious. Outside of student life, do you work with a community a lot like different partners in the community, or do y' all try to stick. Stick to just your campus partners? [00:28:59] Speaker C: I mean, I guess the way that we work with, you know, community partners is, is that we hire them for our events. Right. So we've got a company, a production company that we work with that helps Us out with a variety of things, a variety of events. And so I guess that's kind of the way that we really partner in those ways. It's not as meaningful connections as maybe the center for Service and Leadership and their community partners. They are definitely the experts in that. But really, I think our campus partners is where our strongest kind of ties lie. [00:29:31] Speaker B: As far as, as far as programming week to week, is there a minimum number of programs that you guys try to ensure happen, you know, every week or does it oscillate a lot? Obviously, depending on the time of the year and, you know, things that would be relevant to that time of the year. [00:29:47] Speaker C: Yeah. So this past Thursday, we kicked off Up Engage. So that is our weekly series. And so every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, between now and the end of the beginning of finals, every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, with the exception of the week of Thanksgiving, we will have events. And so we do events every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. And then we also have events throughout the week which are more kind of varied and depend dependent upon week to week. And we participate in different on campus programs as well. And that doesn't count if we sponsor an event and support it. But our programs are every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. And so. So it is a lot. Last academic year, from August 2021 to May 2022, we either planned or directly supported 175 events. [00:30:37] Speaker A: Wow. I was just gonna ask like, how many? That's a lot. [00:30:40] Speaker B: Yeah. So say a campus department or student org or whoever. You know, they're thinking, man, I have this idea for this event. I think university programs would be a great partner to really help execute this vision because our group just doesn't have the manpower for that. Do y' all provide that and what does that process look like if you do? [00:31:01] Speaker C: Yeah, we do. And it's actually a very streamlined process. We have what's called our event resource request process. We cannot think of a better name that accurately describes it. But anybody that's interested in that can go to our website, which is up UA Edu and there's a form, form that they fill out. And we have a. We have a student staff member and myself that we are dedicated to supporting those groups that do that. And we can provide financial resources, we can provide staffing, we can provide graphic design, help photography, videography, really kind of. Or even just sometimes people just want to know, like, hey, what are the rules for planning an event on campus? And so we can do that as well. And so that's something that we created actually in 2020. And it was really 20, 20, 2021, that kind of academic year. And we really created it as an opportunity to bring more resources and more financial and kind of non financial resources to historically marginalized groups. So that's who we're trying to really. Groups that maybe haven't always had the access to funding or staffing. And if you're doing something that aligns with both UP's goals and visions and the division of student life, then we want to help make that happen. And so we support anywhere from, you know, 25 plus events a semester through that. And some groups, you know, they just need a little bit of help. Some groups need more. I'm not going to say that we're going to give them every penny they ask for, but sometimes we're able to help them figure out, oh, okay, this is it. You know, we can do this in this way. So that's something that we really are kind of passionate about. [00:32:37] Speaker A: I was thinking about the wellness will because coming from an exercise perspective and just holistic wellness, I feel like this definitely fits into your social side of things, but also emotional because I feel like a lot of the students that kind of need a place to go that don't have like, maybe they don't work out, they don't really go to the rec center, or maybe they have like, kind of like, I'm going to say it, like a weird little quirk and they're just trying to figure out where they fit in. I feel like y' all are the ones to do that because, I mean, you were mentioning that drag queen bingo. [00:33:05] Speaker C: And I was like, that's cool. [00:33:06] Speaker A: I was like, do what now? I was like, what are we doing? And it was just cool that there's options for everybody because I think a lot of times it's just certain groups, you know? [00:33:15] Speaker C: Yeah. And that's something that we tell people anytime. I, like, talk to groups, you know, at Bama Bound or, you know, trainings or things like that. It's two things. One, if there's an event that you want to see on campus, even if you're not a student org, you don't know how to, you know, you're like, hey, I just think it would be cool if you did that. We are always open to ideas. Please slide into our Instagram DMs. We check those every day. We will make it happen. And I say there's no better event than when you don't have to plan. But then the other thing is that, yeah, we don't ever expect every UA student to Come to our events. That's 30,000 plus people. We could not afford that. We could not afford to feed everyone. And so we're not for everyone. I just want everyone to know that we're an option. I want people to. To know that, like, hey, in your first and second year, when you're trying to find your place, when you're trying to find your people, that we can be a place that's just a safe, you know, comfortable place to come get a free meal. [00:34:05] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:34:05] Speaker C: And maybe, you know, we do. We're trying to plug in more kind of learning opportunities. We just did a speaker series last. Last week that about, you know, kind of leadership development and things like that. And so we're really trying to kind of do more of that, to really kind of look at the holistic stuff. Student experience. [00:34:22] Speaker A: That's great. [00:34:22] Speaker B: You know, I just. I. I've been thinking about the opportunities that I've had to be involved with some UP events. And, I mean, you guys have, like, students that are hardcore dedicated to attending anything and everything. Like, I'm like, I have seen you, [00:34:38] Speaker C: like, oh, yes, like our frequent flyers. [00:34:40] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:34:40] Speaker B: I went to school for, like, the past, like, seven years because I literally feel like for the past seven years, like, I've seen you at ED everything. And I was asking someone else about a particular person, they're like, oh, that person's in grad school. And I was like, okay. They are just harder. They must have, like, up's calendar. Like, they sync it with their own outlook. [00:35:00] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, they have big notifications when we post, is what they say. They get notifications. And so we do. We're actually, you know, breaking news. We are launching a loyalty program in the spring to kind of reward people that participate and things like that. They don't have to do any. We'll have more stuff on that coming up. But yeah, to kind of. Kind of reward that. But we do. We have some people that UP is their community, you know, and that they come and are excited to be there. And some of them are our students friends, you know, our student employees friends. They always come or it's always fun when a staff member comes to an event that they're not working. But then they always say that I end up putting them to work. I'm like, are you clocked in? Do you want to clock in? Yeah, we need some help, you know, but, yeah, we definitely have people that know what we're doing, and we're all about that. [00:35:49] Speaker B: Yes. And, Paige, thank you so much again for spending your afternoon with us and talking about university programs. I know that our campus community is just going to be really excited to see what's coming up for the fall. But, y', all, we're taking a break and then we've got our last five minutes together. But you really seem to fit to be tied, which is. Welcome to Sheena Whitney on 9.7 Capstone. [00:36:13] Speaker C: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa. [00:36:23] Speaker A: Welcome back. You're listening to fit to be tied with Sheena and Whitney. And we've had Paige on talking about all these awesome programs that you can do and be a part of university programs. And we were just thinking during the break, sheena, how do you get hyped? [00:36:35] Speaker B: So this is a perfect question for me to admit this and I'll explain, like, how this all ties in together. So recently I had to make posters for my about to be 4 year old and 2 year old. They're little about me posters for school. And so their fun fact is that their favorite songs are bye bye bye and it's gonna be me by the sink. And their teachers keep asking me about, like, on separate occasions, I. And I was like, look. I was like. Our ritual on the way to school when I am driving them in my very sexy minivan is we jam out to NSync. Like, if we're not listening to worship music, we're gonna put on some NSync. And I just am like, something about that early 2000s beat. I'm ready to conquer the world, girl. That's my hypes. [00:37:23] Speaker A: I mean, first of all, props to being an awesome mom and bringing up your kids awesome on good music. [00:37:28] Speaker B: They know all the lyrics. [00:37:30] Speaker A: It's awesome. Yeah, you gotta teach them the dance moves next. [00:37:33] Speaker B: Sam, like, is struggling to, like, do the arm movements. That's so cute. So I'm gonna have to exploit him on YouTube. [00:37:39] Speaker A: Please do. Please do, Paige. You have a lot of energy. I'm gathering this especially for someone that has to work all day, do class at night and do programs on the weekends and all this kind of stuff. [00:37:50] Speaker C: How do you. [00:37:51] Speaker A: How do you stay hype? [00:37:53] Speaker C: I probably. I was thinking this as Sheena was talking. I think a couple of things. One, I get very hyped just being around people. I was never a good work from home employee. I like the hustle and bustle of the office, the students coming in, all of that. I think what gets me hyped is a good plan. Knowing what my day is gonna look like, organized. Because then I feel like if I know that I'm gonna Be able to get all my stuff done. It gives me the freedom and those breaks to really go out in the office and just hang out with the staff and talk to them and. But I do. I love. I love a good plan. [00:38:31] Speaker B: I'll take it. I feel that. [00:38:32] Speaker A: I feel that, too. [00:38:33] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah. [00:38:34] Speaker C: I think that would be. Yeah, it's kind of lame, but I think that's. I mean, I love music, too, but I think. Yeah, I think. [00:38:40] Speaker A: But what gets you prepared for the [00:38:42] Speaker C: day is, like, you gotta have a good plan. I'm like, I got my plan. Yeah. Like a good, like, morning walk or, you know, like. And just. Yeah. Kind of get ready for the day and go. But I mean, when my feet hit the floor, I'm usually, like, kind of dragging a little bit. But once my feet hit the floor, I'm like. You're like, I'm ready to go. [00:38:58] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:38:59] Speaker A: Interesting. Interesting. What about you? You know, it's funny. I'm sitting here and I'm thinking about what gets me high. I'm a morning person. I cannot stay up late. But I think teaching is what gets me hype. Like, I have to teach a class. When I don't teach, my energy level drops. Like, I have to be doing. So even if I know my class is later in the day, in my mind, I'm thinking about, like, what I'm gonna do in that class. Whether it's yoga, Pilates, it doesn't matter. And, oh, I have to tell y', all, this is so cute. This is what really gets me hyped. I started teaching a class at Capstone Village, and it's a dance class. It's 30 minutes. [00:39:32] Speaker B: Oh. [00:39:32] Speaker A: And it's basically. I've named it Senior Days. Like days or Cardio Dance Class. Yes. But guys, I put on there, like, Elvis Presley and, like, Beach Boys. It was the most fun I've ever had. And we just danced around. I was like, this is, like. This is getting hype. [00:39:47] Speaker B: This is it. [00:39:47] Speaker C: I love it. We're up here. [00:39:48] Speaker B: Okay. When does this occur? [00:39:50] Speaker A: Tuesdays at 10:45 in the 40. [00:39:53] Speaker B: That is some fun time. [00:39:55] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:39:55] Speaker A: And it's so fun. And those ladies, I mean, some of them were like, oh, I can't do this type of stuff. I said, what can you not do? She's like, well, you're kind of dancing. I was like, well, what's my kind of dancing? I was like, I don't know what kind of Persona I'm giving off here, but we did the twist. We did a little, like, snaps and it was great. So anyway, dancing and teaching, I would say that's what gets me hyped. [00:40:15] Speaker B: Okay. [00:40:16] Speaker C: I love it. [00:40:16] Speaker B: So, listeners, this is going to be our question for this semester is what gets you hyped when we have guests on the show. We're going to be ending the show with that question. Paige, thank you for being our guinea pig with us. [00:40:27] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm like, oh, man, I'm gonna have to write in a different answer. You know, if I think of something, I have to start thinking about it. [00:40:33] Speaker A: Yeah, it's good. [00:40:34] Speaker B: No, we end up this show on a high for sure. But, y', all, we hope you have a fabulous week. A short week, a short work week. Who couldn't ask for something better? But you have been listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7. The capstone. [00:40:54] Speaker C: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa.