From an outsider’s perspective, campus events like poker tournaments and open mic night seem to effortlessly take place each quarter. But in reality, Campus Unions program coordinator Lexer Chou is the woman behind the scenes, planning and orchestrating each event brought to the UC Davis campus.
Chou, a UCD alumna who graduated with a degree in human development, began working on campus events like Picnic Day while an undergraduate and held the position of chairperson for two consecutive years. From there, her passion for event planning and networking within the student union grew.
Chou’s ability earned her the position as the first program coordinator in Memorial Union. Her first step as program coordinator was to send out a survey through the MyUCDavis server, asking students what they wanted in terms of campus events.
“My main focus is on student leadership,” explained Chou, who has 10 students who intern with her. “In the beginning, students didn’t really know about event planning. Now we have a program pretty much every night.”
Among the programs sponsored by Campus Unions include Coho Live, which features local musical talents in the ASUCD Coffee House on Tuesdays or performances by improv/sketch comedy troupe Birdstrike Theater.
Campus Unions‘ big event this quarter is “A New Hope 2,” a two-day break dancing battle. It takes place Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. at Freeborn Hall. Tickets can be purchased at the Freeborn Hall ticket office. Single-day passes are $15 in advance and $20 the day of the event and $28 for a two-day pass. The event is in collaboration with Flexible Flave, a well-known break dance group located in Sacramento. Several of its members can be seen on the television show “So You Think You Can Dance?”
Along with UC Davis applicants, “A New Hope 2” will feature dancers and DJs from all over the nation.
Flexible Flave and Campus Unions liaison Jenny Ceguerra sought Chou for her help with putting together the break dancing event.
“I could not have asked to work with someone better,” Ceguerra said in an e-mail interview. “It didn’t take me long to consider her more of a friend than anything else, and I really look forward to working with her in the future.”
In regards to her success as program coordinator, Chou underlines that her main concentration is on the students.
“Student Unions are huge. There’s so much life in there, and I want something for everybody.”
Senior community regional development major Jules Cruz, works as an intern for Chou, describing her experience as amazing and inspirational.
“She’s brought a lot to UC Davis,” Cruz said. “Not only [has she] brought so many different events, but diverse events as well. At UCD everyone is their own individual, but her events bring everyone together.”
JULIA McCANDLESS can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.
