MOST OUTSTANDING COLLABORATIVE EVENT NOMINEE
TULANE UNIVERSITY VIETNAMESE ASSOCIATION
X
LOYOLA ASIAN STUDENT ORGANIZATION
TUVA X LASO POTLUCK
What organization did you collaborate with and why?
Tulane University Vietnamese Association (TUVA) collaborated with Loyola Asian Student Organization (LASO) because we both wanted to host a Thanksgiving Potluck for the fall semester and believed that we could provide a better experience for our general members if we pulled our resources together and spent the time making new friends and learning more about each other.
Provide a detailed description of the event and the population it served. Details MUST include: date of event, number of participants, program purpose (goals, objectives, etc.), use of resources (finances, community support, etc.), and marketing techniques.
The TUVA x LASO Potluck was a Thanksgiving-themed potluck that took place at Loyola University on Friday, November 22, 2019 from 6 PM – 9 PM. About 57 participants from seven VSAs attended to share each other’s cultures through cuisine and meet the other members of the UVSA Gulf Coast community. Guests were asked to bring a dish or contribute $5 to our CPP. We hosted fun food challenges and displayed a photo backdrop for our members to have a memorable night. We also wanted to have our Progression to Profession speakers present to a larger audience which is why we figured this event would be perfect for them as they could be available to any of the general members from the UVSA Gulf Coast community that attended. We had three representatives with careers that ranged from math to medicine. We were able to host this event with the help of TUVA funds, LASO funds, and GC catering. We both marketed this event on our social media such as Facebook and Instagram. Because the event was hosted at Loyola University, LASO also posted flyers across Loyola’s campus.
What inspired your organization to collaborate on this event?
While planning out events for the semester, TUVA’s eboard wanted to hold a Thanksgiving potluck the same day as LASO’s potluck. But considering both organizations were so close in distance, a fellow TUVA eboard member suggested collaborating with LASO to create a fun, new tradition. TUVA’s president Maria reached out to LASO’s president Sean about our idea, and both eboards agreed to collaborate. By collaborating on this event, we would be supporting each other’s VSAs as well as providing general members with the chance to interact with the larger Gulf Coast community.
What efforts were used to motivate and involve members?
We both hoped to spark interest from general members by hosting food challenges, which included a jello chopsticks eating challenge, a spicy hot wings competition, and a best dish contest. Winners of each contest received TUVA and LASO t-shirts as prizes. Because the collaborative event was a potluck, both eboards wanted to let people have ample time to mingle and socialize. Everyone that attended the event was required to either bring a dish or pay a small fee, so anyone that brought a dish was automatically entered into the best dish competition. Another cute idea LASO proposed was creating a Thanksgiving-themed backdrop for people to take pictures as a way to remember the event.
Did the organization overcome any challenges that arose while planning and implementing the event? How?
When the idea for a potluck was first brought up, we did have to figure out what each organization’s eboard could offer. Both organizations communicated through our presidents, Maria and Sean, to determine what each eboard would be responsible for. There were some concerns that the potluck would be seen more as one organization’s own than both, but both eboards ensured the event would be a collaborative effort. We made a spreadsheet for dishes and supplies for both organizations to fill out and send to their general members. We also shared a powerpoint slide, introducing both LASO and TUVA’s eboard members and their positions.