Looking at the group that changed my life.

Have you ever had something happen to you that changed your life for the better?

I've had a few of these moments. Sometimes you realize in the moment that they're happening and sometimes it takes a little flashback to remind you of how much you were affected. I've had a few seasons in my life that definitely changed my overall course, and one particular organization had a large life-altering presence.

On Friday, I was asked to return back to my old stomping grounds, the Memorial Union at Oregon State University, to participate in an alumni Q&A session for the incoming coordinators of the Memorial Union Program Council (MUPC). I was so excited to go back to Corvallis and share my love for MUPC with anyone who would listen.

Anyone who has spoken to me for more than a half hour has probably heard me talk about MUPC, so for those of you who are scratching your heads and wondering what in the world it is, I will try and convey the awesome in one sentence.

MUPC is a student event planning group on campus to put on a huge variety of events and activities throughout the year.

That sentence (or any sentence that doesn't include firworks and pyrotechnics) does not do the organization justice. It sounds like just another student organization. How did that change my life? Well, let me tell you. Through MUPC, I was able to gain more knowlege than any other time/place in my life. I learned interpersonal skills, I learned the professional building blocks, I learned conflict resolution, and most importantly, I learned about my own personal potential.

The interpersonal skills were something I had already thought I displayed. I'm my mother's daughter. I talk to strangers at the grocery store. I am fairly confident when meeting new people, but MUPC and student leadership encouraged me to develop my skills further. We did trainings like StrengthsQuest to determine our leadership styles, which helped us learn what types of people we work with more effectively and how we can better our communication with those who may not be like-minded communicators. It also encouraged me to work with different organizations who have different motives and end goals than my own organization. We worked with diversity development in order to reach a greater target audience.

Along with the interpersonal focus, I was also encouraged to develop my professional skilss. We worked with tools such as timelines, GoogleDocs, Microsoft Office, riders, contracts, and so many other things. We were taught how to conduct meetings, how to market our own events and how to professionally handle difficult clients.

We learned that, on a campus of nearly 30,000 students and faculty members, not everyone will LOVE your events. We learned that you're always going to have that ONE customer who whines. We learned how to work with committee members that you'd rather drop kick across the football field. We also learned how to adapt. Sometimes your comedians show up ten minutes AFTER the commedy show is scheduled to start and that you have to get up on stage in front of 1,200 people in order to stall while they get ready to preform.

Most of all, MUPC taught me that I am capable. How often are 18-22 year olds in charge of an event with a $70,000 budget? How often are students in charge of over $100,000 worth of merchandise? How often are college 'kids' responsible for keeping 6,000 students safe at a free concert? Well, at least once a year for all of those with MUPC. The organization taught me that I am capable of putting 6 months of hard work into a single 40-hour weekend and creating memories for hundreds of students and their families.

Honestly, it was a little difficult going from so much responsibility to the "real world" where people my age aren't always held to the same work standards that we were held to in the Student Leadership world. It was hard since I had accomplished some big stuff in college and then I went back to the lowliest positions in the workforce. But let me tell you, once I was able to prove myself and to prove my abilities, I realized that MUPC had set me up for success. Looking back and talking with the new coordinators helped me realize how much growth I had seen in myself throughout the two years as a college event coordinator.

MUPC had changed my life. It had given me the people skills, the work ethic, and the confidence I had needed to prove myself to my superiors in my after-college life. It also gave me some of the best friends I could have asked for. I spent many days crying over tests, work frustrations and boy problems with my co-coordinators. We binged on coffee as the event date came up closer and closer. We shared event horrro stories. We shared event successes. We met each others families. We met each others' significant others. We lived one of the best times of our lives together and now share a bond that will always remind us of some of our best and strongest memories.

Going back this weekend came at the perfect time. I needed to "go home" and MUPC was a great place to visit. It reminded me of all the things I survived while sitting on those couches at the MU. I tried conveying my love for the organization to the incoming coordinators but they'll learn soon enough. They'll live it. It opened my eyes to how different of a person I would have been had I not joined the Programming council.

I loved looking back on the organization that changed my life.