The UWAC Culture
Building Friendships
Running a three-day event with thousands of minor details, from minute-to-minute time planning to coordinating with our venue to setup a Friday Night Dinner seating plan, requires perfect coordination and communication within a team of 16 – 18 individuals.
All current and former UWAC executives will agree that what sets this team apart are our bonding experiences. Throughout the year, we hold weekly meetings, informal socials, and exciting retreats which allow us to get to know one another better in both a professional and personal setting. This fosters a strong sense of trust amongst the team, which is necessary to successfully coordinate a project that requires a combined total effort of more than 5,500 hours. As one UWAC team member likes to put it, "I walked into a group of seventeen strangers, and walked out with seventeen friends."
Taking Ownership of the Conference
Unlike committees and many other planning teams, UWAC Coordinators have no defined role. Everyone on the team plays a vital part in every aspect of the conference; from finding sponsors, to planning socials, to obtaining sales. This allows each team member to develop skills in various aspects and to take ownership of the conference as a whole. When a new sponsor is obtained, the whole team knows about it immediately. At 3:30am the night before the conference, everyone will still be up for a printing run of the final draft of our Delegate Welcome Letter. The best way to put the ownership we take for the conference is that "it’s not possible to do too much work for UWAC." Coordinators constantly look for areas of improvement and it is because of this culture of dedication and camaraderie that UWAC is able to reach new heights every year.
The most memorable experience however, comes from the sense of accomplishment that is gained after the conference is over. Throughout the year, there will be busy and stressful times, but looking back, the fun times are much more vivid, and the relationships gained are what stand out. The feeling of seeing an entire year’s effort and planning come to life is indescribable and priceless. It really is a mix of joy, exhilaration and bittersweet-ness, and even that does not fully describe the extent of the experience the conference provides. UWAC is more than just a yearlong commitment. It’s a life-changing experience.