I recently got to go to St. Louis for a conference with UAO and to say the least it was AMAZING! First off I got to miss 5 days of school (excused) plus free meals, 3 times a day. What college student doesn’t like like free food and missing school?

Although I did have fun, the trip was purely business. The purpose of NACA was to book acts/performers for school events for next school year. Artists ranged from comedians like Nick Canon, rappers like the Nappy Roots and singers like the Hanson’s. There were also magicians, ventriloquists, dancers, beat-boxers and hypnotists that performed.

Each day we had to attend up to three showcases filled with all different types of acts and at the end of each day we decided what acts would be a fit for our campus. We actually got the comedians for our comedy show “LOL with UAO” at NACA. Ross Matthews from Chelsea Lately is headlining the showcase.

Along with each showcase we also had to go to the showroom where hundreds of vendors and organizations gathered to persuade each school to book their act or show. Imagine your local gym or recreation area filled with booths that did tattoos, spray painting, smoothies, video games, t-shirts, inflatables, race cars, oxygen bars, etc. Whatever you could think of, it was all in front of you.

So far this probably sounds like all fun (which it was) but we also had to sit in on educational sessions. These taught us how to make more successful programs. This means how can we advertise differently, be more creative and get the campus more involved. Altogether NACA was a wonderful experience. I learned so much and I suggest anyone that wants to be more involved in an organization to attend conferences or lectures that their organization offers. You get to learn more while showing the current leaders that you are interested and motivated to move up in the organization.