First Time: Hosting an Event

[Laura Ruiz Colón]

I recently came across a thought provoking question, When was the last time you did something for the first time? . I instantly thought this would be a great topic for a blog series! So I have challenged myself to post at least once a month on a "First Time" experience. 

To kick off my first "First Time" blog I will share a bit about my experience being a host at the first Festival Latino event. Festival Latino is a week-long celebration of the richness of Latino culture on Penn's Campus. The week is comprised of  different events each day(from Sunday 24th to Sunday 31st). They range from academic, cultural and social events. 

The opening event, Sancocho, was earlier this evening. As a Festival Latino Board member I was one of the events host. Being a host was an amazing experience and although I have always had a passion for event planning I am now clear that I also LOVE hosting! For those of you who have never hosted before, I can assure you that it is one of the most rewarding things you can do. Aside from assuring that everything is going smoothly the majority of the time during the event it is all about socializing and encouraging people to have a good time. What makes this a rewarding job is that you are able to see all your hard work and months of planning boil down to one event that others will get to enjoy. 

If today's event was an indicator of the rest of the week, this will be one of the best cultural weeks Penn has seen!

Andre, a fellow board member, and I  "modeling" the Festival Latino posters.We used this picture for our social media publicity campaign.

Picture by Javier Garcia

With Love, L

[Latinitas Intern]

This is a great idea for a blog series. I'm excited to read more of your future posts. Your event sounds awesome. It is such a cool way to honor our heritage and culture. Good luck on your great future firsts. 

[Laura Ruiz Colón]

Thank you April, throughout my 18 years of life I have realized that life is significantly better when we approach it with a good attitude. Also, I am actually a student at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia not Penn State. I should probably start referring to it as UPenn to avoid confusion:) What city do you go to school in?

[April C. Davila]

Are you studying in Penn state? I go to school in PA at a small liberal arts college!

By the way,

I love your enthusiam.