On my daily perusal through the blog PerezHilton, I noticed a large collection of articles circulating around crazy celeb antics and the best/worst dressed of Hollywood. The question that immediately came to mind is – who cares? And the unfortunate answer is that along with a large fraction of the U.S. – I do. The truth is I find it fascinating that a core group of people can make such an impact on the culture of our entire country!
Now by no means do I consider myself a celebrity, but as VP of Programming for the University Program Board, I get the opportunity to choose what events and programs come to JMU, making my own impact on this campus. Whether it’s analyzing student surveys to choose who should come to Convo, the themes of the Late Night Breakfasts, or the details of a Matinee Movie, I work with all five of the UPB committees on a daily basis. My favorite part of my job is developing events that begin as crazy ideas and turning them into reality, like premiering the Oscars and Grammys on the big screen at Grafton, or starting up a student concert series. I encourage anyone who wants to be heard and make decisions on campus to apply for a position in UPB. It’s time to make your own impact!
~Emily Grochowski, VP of Programming
Wiz Khalifa. The first thing that probably pops into everyone’s head is “Black and 
Be prepared for the unexpected. As VP of Marketing and Communication I oversee a lot of different marketing related tasks. One of those tasks is promotion meet and greets with the artist of the event. Weeks of planning go into the meet and greet. First, we have to deal with talent management and our middle agent to get approval. Next comes figuring out the right way to give out the passes so we can hopefully increase ticket sales. Then we create the logistics of how the meet and greet will go at the event.
personal favorite Corey Smith changing the time of the meet and greet from before the show to after (and telling me a story when one meet and greet winner bit him). After all the planning and all the changes I still enjoy what I do, and if you can plan as well as problem solve so can you.
My life growing up was a little bit different than most kids. Up until high school, my parents had a strict “no television” rule on school days, and even on the weekends the amount of time my two younger brothers and I were allowed to spend watching TV was limited. Me being the mischievous person I’ve always been, I obviously found ways around this rule. One day, I was over at my best friend’s house when I had my first interaction with reality TV. When she asked me if I had seen the latest episode of “The Real World”, I told her I hadn’t seen it, let alone heard of it, and she reacted as if I was insane! She briefed me on the premise of the show and described all the characters, and to be honest I was confused as to what the point of reality television was. I didn’t understand why watching the lives of individuals other than myself could be interesting. To me, watching people go out and live their lives when I could be out living my own life seemed silly. However, after that first dose of reality television, I was instantly hooked, and now it’s safe to say that reality television one of my “guilty pleasures”.
somewhere else with complete strangers, making memories along the way seems like a pretty awesome way to live for a few months. Once I was in college I was worried that if I was actually chosen to go on the show that it could potentially harm my future chances at a successful career. However, I’m a free spirit and I tend to take chances and when my friends started bugging me to apply because they all thought I’d be a perfect candidate, I eventually made moves. After I applied, months later I received a call from Bunim-Murray Entertainment, and Iiterally screamed out in excitement in ECL. Unfortunately, due to a conflict with finals week, I was unable to attend the next interview. I’m planning on applying again this year, and I really hope I get it. I graduate this May, and I definitely wouldn’t mind putting the real world on hold to be on “The Real World”. Who knows, maybe you’ll see me on TV one day!
