Record Numbers at Spring BBQ

By Haley Rice
Spring BBQ event co-lead

 

The 2016 Spring BBQ was held on May 6 and was a huge success! During this annual event, juniors from all of our partner schools tour the UW campus, attend a mock lecture put on by a UW professor and have lunch in the Quad. We had a total of 642 students attend this year, which is the highest number of high school juniors that have ever attended Spring BBQ!

The lunch included a guest speaker, BBQ food, prizes and dance-offs. Students had the opportunity to hear from one of two amazing speakers this year! At the first lunch our guest speaker was Helen Enguerra, who works for the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity in their Multicultural Outreach & Recruitment branch as an admissions counselor. She focuses on Pacific Islander recruitment for the UW. Kendrick Glover was the guest speaker for the last two lunches and is currently serving as the program manager for the Puget Sound College and Career Network, which focuses on promoting awareness and opportunities for all students after high school.

Each lunch also had a DJ and dance competition. A representative from each school was chosen to demonstrate their moves and compete for prizes, including a movie or UW sports–themed gift basket.

It was extremely rewarding to be an event lead, because I was able to be on the planning side of the event for the first time. All committee members were more than prepared for the day and did a fantastic job navigating the event. In addition, there was great support from Dream Project staff, volunteer mentors and tour guides that helped make the day a success.