#angietran

The thing about event planning is that, you work so hard for this idea, this thing that doesn’t quite exist yet. However, everything that you are doing in the moment will eventually lead you to this thing. The team you are working with are the ones who will ultimately bring it to life. That is not only the most exciting thing about event planning but the also scariest. 

I’ll begin this post with a few photos of the week:

The week started like any other. I got into the office, began working on tasks and continued assisting where I was needed. However, the difference with this week was that there was so much pressure from every angle to get our tasks done. No longer was I able to only focus only on my tasks but I had to help out wherever it was necessary. It first was helping Mayta with nametags and name tents then went over to Lillian in helping her put together silent auction collages and everything else in between. On Monday night, we had a committee meeting in which some of the committee members came out to help us with creating our materials! Also, shoutout to Danny and Tony from the cohort for coming through. The night was great in that everyone was happily working together and we got everything done! By the time we left though, it was 10pm. As what I said to Mayta, in Minnesota time, I can say I stayed at the office until 12am! lol

Fast forward to Thursday, the day of the Gala. The moment I walked into the office the atmosphere was much different than usual days - something I cannot quite explain. It was as if everyone was extremely worried but also extremely calm. I guess I’m used to the “run around with your head cut off” type of people so it was refreshing to be around people who can keep it calm under pressure. Anywho, when we got to the Omni, let me tell ya, time flew by. 

I was relieved of my work duties and was thrown into the networking space. Naturally, I am an awkward person so I despise being in spaces where I am forced to network. HOWEVER, i do realize the importance of it - I guess I just don’t like the idea of going up to someone unless I have a reason to (but that is networking? im confusing, I know). Through this though, I was able to meet some awesome people. By chance, I ran into Bradley Cooper, the new Chair of LEAP and we ended up talking about his history, his future living plans and how he’s pretty much been to every part of the country. He actually brought up the fact that he read my bio, something that was sent to him prior to the Gala which I thought was interesting. In general, it was refreshing to have a real conversation with someone of his prestige. At the dinner, I was placed at Jim Lactaoen’s, another LEAP board member’s, table. To my surprise, he and his wife Nina are also alums of the U of MN. GO GOPHERS! We ended up talking about that for quite sometime and Nina gave me some reassuring advice about being a fresh graduate. Unfortunately, I was unable to take photos of the event, however these are some of the photos I was able to take: 

Also, I would like to take this time to give a huge shoutout to the LEAP intern team for everything that they did during these past couple of months. We were all in a collective struggle however, found solace in leaning on each other for support. Not to mention, API Women Leaders ftw. Cheers to a successful gala! 

The next morning was the Leadership Breakfast. I would be lying if I said I was super excited for this. After a long night of Gala, getting up at 6:00am to head over did not sound appealing but, it was worth it! One of my greatest takeaways was meeting Julie, another one of LEAP’s board members. Low key, I’ve been wanting to meet her since I found out there was a Hmong woman on LEAP’s board so the moment I had the chance, I went straight to her. We talked about the stigma that the Hmong culture puts on women who want to have successful careers but also recognized our privileges that we did not come from the most traditional households which is why we are able to be where we are. Julie works for General Motors and so it was great to meet someone who was as high level as she is working in the Corporate world. There aren’t very many Hmong woman who are doing that. In general, it was great to be able to connect with another Hmong woman who is on a completely different path than I but still be able to relate in many other ways. That, is the power of representation. 

General takeaways from the Gala: 

- As much as i dislike networking, i have come to learn that I do not know anyone else’s intentions however, I do know mine. I approach everyone with genuinity even if my gut feeling is telling me this person and I have nothing in common. I believe that in order to get genuity, you have to be geniuine.  

- Community comes in many different forms. Like how I cannot convince all my friends to show up to a rally, I cannot convince them to come to a Gala either. However, that doesn’t mean that one form of gathering is better than the other. Community is about coming together to celebrate, to heal, to advocate for the betterment of it regardless of what the platform is. 

ONE WEEK TO GO UNTIL THE GALA. TIME IS TIKING. 

And with all of that in mind, this week was definitely strenuous in that there are still very many little things that need to get done. One of them being name tags. dun dun dun. Now, on the surface, the tasks of nametags may seem trivial BUT NO, these bad boys are super important. If you have a spelling error, have the wrong title or even have a beat up holder, that can really come back and hit the image of your organization. So, if there’s anything I’ve learned this week, NAMETAG CREATION IS NEVER ENDING. 

Week 3 of LIA? Check.

This week at LEAP, we got the ball rolling in terms of getting requests out for the Bid For Empowerment. All of that database updating is finally over!!! Well, for now.... 

Something awesome I got to experience this week was a TASTE TESTING. We toured the venue for the Gala and chose our dishes for the evening. Unfortunately, I was unable to take photos because I was too busy enjoying the moment but i ensure you, it was beautifully delicious. 

With two weeks left before the gala, stress levels are high but I’m certain that the outcome will be well worth it! 

In other news, FRIDAY WORKSHOP UPDATE TIME!

This week we went to the California Community Foundation where we met John Kobara who (i think) inadvertently taught us about the importance of having confidence in your story. The greatest lesson I took back from it was that despite the fact that people may not support the things you do, they will believe you when your passion shows through. This idea of “people can tell when you are lying” is so cliche but so true. As I start to embark onto the next step in my life, these words mean so much more to me than I would have ever assumed. 

This was the first week being placed at my CBO which, if you have been keeping up, is LEAP! Initially, I was quite saddened that I was no longer with my cohort as you can tell from this photo:

However, I knew they were off learning and doing amazing things at their CBOs so I got over it. 

To be straightforward, this week as emotionally and mentally exhausting. Having been coddled for as long as I have, I expected that this would be the same case here. I was wrong. Nancy and Mayta both had me jump right into work for the Gala. Trust me, I’ve planned events before but this was so new! The most shocking thing was that I never knew how time consuming one project can be! For example, I would come in at 9, work on something up until lunch time and then after lunch come back to work on that same project and before I knew it, it was time to go home and I didn’t even get to the second item on my task list. I would be lying if I said that this transition was easy but having the support of Nancy and Mayta definetly made it much better! 

But this is the reality of working in non-profit - it never really stops. Watching those two day in and day out pull in 10 hour days (and going home to do even more work) has not only been amazing but truly inspiring! I think for the first time in my life, I’m finally beginning to understand the realities of working in non-profit and the true meaning of carrying out a mission that you are truly invested in. Development work is dull, uninteresting and quite tedious however so important to sustaining an organization and because of that, I have come to love everything I am doing. The impact may not be immediate but I trust that it will happen. 

In an effort to find peace of mind this week, some folks from the cohort also went to the famous, Tuesday Night Cafe! 

In short, the experience was magical. You just had to be there.

Fast forward to our friday workshop. We talked about the Golden Circle and why we pursue the work we do. Not only was the crew together again which as cool but it was great to learn about why my team wants to pursue work in creating social justice and pathways to success. Again, it was a humble reminder that there is beauty in the struggle because without it, I would have never met some of the most amazing people ever <3