When I stepped out into the open air in Phoenix after our flight landed, I was not prepared for what hit me. A giant oven-like heat wave greeted me and the rest of the FiveCore team. The scary part was the sun had already gone down! We knew we’d be okay though- we had a whole week to get used to the heat while we were in Phoenix for the bi-annual Mennonite Church USA Youth Convention. The FiveCore team was in charge of running a green screen video activity at Goshen College’s booth in a large exhibit hall filled with other Mennonite organizations and schools.

After we checked into our hotel, we were able to relax after a full day of delay-riddled travel and prepare for the upcoming week. The next day, our truck with all the booth gear arrived at the convention center downtown, ready to be unloaded. With plenty of help from the Admissions Department, we managed to set up in only four hours. We were finally ready for the swarm of eager high school youth that would soon be descending on the exhibit hall.

Our activity, and Goshen’s booth overall, was a great success. Seeing the kids shine in front of the camera was almost as gratifying as hearing their positive remarks about the booth. “This is such a great idea!” and “We are definitely coming back to do this again” were favorites of mine.

The challenge about this week in general wasn’t just running our green screen video activity; it was running it in style. While technically our job was just to run the one aspect of the booth, we also had the responsibility of representing the Communication Department and Goshen College as a whole. For a lot of the kids, it was likely their very first impression of GC. As a student, I was honored to be there and grateful for the opportunity to chat with the youth about why I chose Goshen College and what it has to offer them. That was a highlight for me.

The best part of the week though, was working with the FiveCore crew. There were times when I thought we bit off more than we could chew, but instead we took difficult challenges in stride and showed what we are capable of as a team. We took risks and they paid off. Being able to see weeks of planning, equipment set-up, and practice come together so harmoniously was incredibly satisfying, and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of it.

Here are our daily highlight videos to show you just how much fun we had at the convention!

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

DAY 4