Hello everyone!
A couple of weeks ago, I got the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas for the CMAA (Club Management Association of America) World Conference. I was able to connect with many influential people in the club management community and got to learn a lot from them throughout our student sessions.
We left dark and early at 3:00 am on March 3rd. The flight from Hartford to Las Vegas was 6 hours, and by mid-day when we arrived, I was already exhausted. After settling in at the Luxor Hotel, we ate at an 80s-themed restaurant and walked through the main strip of the city. Monday was filled with registering for the conference, attending welcoming sessions, and watching Ben Nemtin deliver a motivational speech about how important it is to make the most out of life by following your dreams. We had dinner at an Irish Pub within the mall of the hotel, and then my roommate Alexa and I went to The Tournament of Kings. I liked it, however, Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede in Branson, MO is still my favorite dinner and show by far. We then met up with some other friends, Kendall and Jen, and rode the Big Apple Roller Coaster. It was amazing to see the city from that high up, even if my dread climbed up along with every tick of the coaster’s wheels.
The next day we sat through some more sessions, ending the day with a student social. I was able to meet with several students from schools all around the country. During one of our bonding activities, we were tasked with creating a club. My group’s was the White Peak Ski Club set in Sweden. I took the reigns in creating our logo and managed to do an impressive enough job to win first place, and bragging rights of course. That night we walked the strip and marveled at the grandness of the casinos. Before coming to Las Vegas, I was unaware of how you can walk from building to building without ever really needing to go outside. Where we were, we didn’t go outside for several days because there wasn’t a need to, everything was connected. It’s a brilliant scheme to keep people inside to gamble away more money, I didn’t know whether to be in awe or appalled haha.
Wednesday featured a career showcase where recruiters from around the country came and set up booths to entice students to intern for them. After this was our two Presidents, Grace and Jack, time to shine at the Shark Tank Competition. They invented a technologically advanced pickleball court named X-Pickle. To say the least, their invention wowed the judges bringing home first prize, and we were all very proud. Later that night we played a couple of games at Top Golf. I haven’t played golf much since high school, my swing could use some work, but it was still a lot of fun.
Thursday was our last day and mostly a free day to do whatever we wanted. A few of us went across town to get lunch and look around a mall, stopping to awe at a robot bartender. Then went back to the hotel to get ready for the CMAA social. This year’s social was at the Allegiant stadium, where the Superbowl was earlier this year. There were tons of games lined up along the field, and I attempted to kick a field goal, it went about as well as you can imagine haha. There was also a wide variety of different foods and a live band. After leaving here, we spent the rest of the night listening to live music on Fremont St.
We left the next day around noon, and got back to the dorms a little past midnight. This trip was one of my favorites this year. However, it wasn’t just the destination that made it so great, it was the people. I made friendships with almost everyone in the group. It’s moments like these that I will miss the most when I return home in May, but they’ll be memories I won’t forget.
-Aarah <3
