PR major appointed to new position
Hillary Searle, ASUSU’s newly appointed arts and lecture director, was sworn in during Wednesday’s executive council meeting, taking on the duties Skyler Parkhurst was responsible for during fall semester.
“While the arts and lectures responsibilities could have been dispersed among the programming board, there are big plans to end the semester. We can serve the students more efficiently with Hillary’s service,” said ASUSU Programming VP Tom Atwood, who appointed Searle.
Searle has been a part of numerous event committees and is partially responsible for the execution of Poetry and a Beverage, Week of Welcome and former Utah Jazz player Jeff Hornacek’s appearance on campus. Atwood said Searle has been updated on the events she will be responsible to take part in preparing and he is confident that she will fulfill her new position because of her “innovative new ideas.”
“The most challenging thing is just getting thrown in half-way through the year,” said Searle, who is a senior majoring in public relations. “I’m excited to take this on. It’s a different atmosphere – a different energy. I just have to get used to it and adapt.”
In Searle’s public relations background, she said she has learned event planning is unpredictable, and it is key for those running events to stay on their toes, always ready to fix screws that have become loose with fresh ideas. However, these ideas must be cultivated quickly, she said.
“Hillary Searle is creative, forward-thinking and has been involved with planning and executing arts and lectures events since we were put in office,” Atwood said.
Searle said when Atwood asked her if she would be interested in taking the position, her answer was definite.
“I did not hesitate,” she said. “This is something I’ve been wanting.”
One of the events Searle will organize with Atwood and Diversity VP Kaho Fiefia is a fundraising event that was presented and voted on unanimously during the executive council meeting. Katchafire, a reggae band from Hawaii, is booked to play April 12, and 100 percent of the revenue will be used for as many $1,000-scholarships for USU students as will be possible.
Students who show academic excellence, leadership and financial need are encouraged to apply when the application is made available.
“The overall goal is to provide a unique event we don’t normally have for students at this school,” Atwood said. “We want a positive event that gives back to the student body.”
The event will be free to USU students, and Atwood – along with the other programming committee members – plan to aim a lot of marketing outside of USU and Cache Valley. Atwood said he believes this band will draw a diverse crowd into Logan. Non-student tickets will cost $10, which he said is half the price of a normal Katchafire ticket.
The bill for the event estimates $8,500 and Atwood said he would like to see $5,000 from revenue, which means five scholarships. Fiefia said he is aware of students who struggle financially because their parents cannot support them, but they are not eligible for grant money and cannot find scholarships that are applicable to them. Some of these students are involved and achieve high grades, and Fiefia said he would like to see these students supported.
Fiefia said everything is not fine-tuned regarding the qualifications of eligibility for the scholarship but he knows if students have loans, they can still qualify for this scholarship.
“It has not been discussed what school level will be qualified for this,” Atwood said. “I think it would be cool to have something like this every year, this type of ASUSU scholarship event.”
Lacey Nagao, ASUSU’s public relations director, said, “I think it’s a great idea, but I like the idea of it only being for college students. When I was in high school I had a lot of scholarship opportunities, but when I got into college there weren’t anymore; the money was gone.”
– catherine.meidell@aggiemail.usu.edu