Abby Millsaps has the ability to bring ideas and events to life where some students may find it hard to see beyond the basketball courts and exercise machines.

Completing her first academic year as the marketing coordinator for the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, Millsaps gave students the opportunity to have alternative ways of having fun on the weekends.

Many students look forward to heading to downtown Kent or visiting a friends party, but late-night events at the Rec Center have given students a chance to escape to a different atmosphere.

She has planned events such as Legends of the Hidden Rec and the Speakeasy Soiree this past semester, which attracted more than 700 students between the two.

“My favorite part about the semester was planning out all of the events for everything we were going to accomplish,” Millsaps said. “It was crazy to look at the list and how much we had going on.”

She said planning can be stressful, but she enjoys getting ideas and putting together events students will be interested in.

“We’re trying to figure out what we are doing, when are we doing it, who are we trying to target,” Millsaps said. “The beginning is always the hardest part — getting it started, getting it off the ground and getting it in place. The event week is great because we promoted it, all the stuff is in place, and it’s just about executing it.”

Millsaps has become no stranger to planning events on campus and said she enjoys seeing students come out to participate in the events. She said she also enjoys working with her marketing team to get all the events ready to go.

“I love when we have to get all the details in order,” Millsaps said. “We can set things up and right before the event starts seeing it all come together.

She said she was most proud of the Legends of the Hidden Rec Center.

“[It] was my favorite to plan,” Millsaps said. “We used the whole facility, used all the different program areas, and I thought it was a good representation for our department. We’d love to do something again that is game show style and really active that utilizes the whole facility.”

Looking ahead to next semester, Millsaps said she has plenty of ideas for students to look forward to.

Contact Matt Orszag at [email protected].