Jobs I have worked – You want me to drive WHO around??

There were random small jobs I have worked in my life that led to something a little bigger. This one while I was in college is a perfect example.

I was part of a group in our dormitory called Community Leaders or “CL’s".” As a CL, you do a lot for the dorm between organizing the lovely carpet delivery for new students to putting on a big outdoor concert to almost setting a building on fire. Okay, the last part was an accident and the Hearnes Center is still there. However, we also assisted Student Activities to provide security to concerts that came to town. We worked the Run DMC show the beginning of our sophomore year and of course all thought it was the coolest thing. After that concert, I started to get a little bit more involved in Student Activities. Next thing I knew, I was running the Special Events committee. We had several committee’s on Student Activities (Black Programming, Music, Film, etc) and what was cool is we all helped each other out for events. Just ask me about working a concert with Genuwine. Ha!

Anyway, we focused in on a up and coming comedian to bring in to town. He was well in our budget for a comedian as we were not there to make money. We had a budget we had for each year and your focus was to break even, or maybe lose just a bit. The comedian did not need a whole lot and just a ride to and from the airport in Columbia and a hotel room. The comedian you ask: Jimmy Fallon of SNL fame and now his own Late Show on NBC. The event was in one word: AWESOME! Sold out the theatre which blew us all away. I had the privilege of introducing him in front of almost 1000 Mizzou students. It was crazy! He stayed afterwards and signed every autograph outside the theatre.

Then, over FAMILY weekend the following October my junior year, I brought in another comedian by the name of Lewis Black. I highlight family because I think his shows are more for adults then the family. He sold out another venue on campus and he was very different from Jimmy Fallon. Lewis was more of the go out afterwards and shut the bar down type of guy. Not getting drunk but just be out and talking to everyone. Someone asked him if Jon Stewart was around and he went into a hysterical yelling rampage, all in good fun. He came back the following year, after I relinquished my title and I was asked to drive him around again.

It was fun driving them around as well as some of the others I worked with; however, the whole process from start to finished really showed me the importance of following through each and every item on a project. It has definitely been used from working in ALL the future jobs I have held. Crazy to think that these shows happened ten years ago; yet, their principles are still being used to this day.

Next time: Jobs I have Worked – From Internship to 1st job after college.