• What comes to mindwhenyouthink of Student Impact? Is it moving into the dorms? Energy groups? The hypnotist?Theme dinners? Or do you simply think about it as the start of school? Do you ever think about who planned it? Or how much work went into that one weekend? Well, I never did until I became Impact Co-Director with senior Justin Vogl. Vogl and I began planning in early spring 2010. Until then, I had never realized how many small details had to be thought out and planned for just one weekend. We worked all summer, but the really long days were the days leading up to Impact weekend. All of the work throughout the summer seemed to finally be coming together. Not only did we get to plan it all, but we also got to participate in it; for example, little did I know that I would end up hypnotized on the Benson stage in front of hundreds of students! While being hypnotized was a fun experience I will never forget, it was not the highlight of the weekend; there was so much more to Impact than just the entertainment. We had to think out every little detail beforehand, yet still be flexible enough to change plans at the last second and think on our feet. Problems could arise at any given moment, and we were the ones who had to resolve them. Being involved with such a big event made me realize I could not do it alone. It taught me that learning how to delegate is a good thing. One person cannot be everywhere at once. Our steering committee of about 30 students helped us out tremendously. They were in charge of different things that needed to be done throughout the weekend. Sometimes Ifound myself thinking about what Iwould have done without their help. They were there voluntarily; they did not get paid or receive much praise from anyone. Most of their work was behind the scenes. That group of people really encouraged me because they were there to help out of the goodness of their hearts. I thought that was the perfect example of what Christ calls us to do. We ended the weekend with a closing ceremony that included candles, singing, devotional and a painting of Jesus. I thought this was a great way to end the weekend because it really showed the students what Harding was about. We strove to be a Christ-centered university, so showing that to the newcomers was very important to me. Down the road, when I look back on Impact, Iwil l remember the excitement of the new students and how much joy it brought me to be a part of the whole experience. I will also remember the hard work that was put into this event and the lessons I learned from it. Even though the job was stressful at times, it was still worth all of the work. I do not think anyone realizes how much goes on behind the scenes until they are there themselves, but I cannot blame them because I never would have thought about it either. Impact made me appreciate those who do work and plan events. It also reminded me how much I really do love Harding and what it stands for. Ashe/ Parsons 2 0 student life
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