One of the most magical aspects of NOVAdance is the Day Of, when members of the Villanova community come together to celebrate the year-long fundraising efforts.
The Day Of space is transformed from the traditional gymnasium layout to a room that fits each year’s theme. This year’s theme is “Where Positivity Fuels The Fire”.
Behind all the work that goes into executing a successful Day Of is the operations committee. This year, it is composed of senior chair Pat Cregan, senior Sofia Llevat, junior Cooper Munro and sophomore Kaelin Damon.
The team is in charge of logistics, from crafting the layout to making sure everyone is in the correct places at the correct time and that the Day Of runs as smoothly as possible.
This year, the team faced the location change to the Cabrini campus.
“Moving the marathon to Cabrini is such a massive but exciting adjustment,” Cregan said. “We held the NOVAdance marathon at Jake Nevin for 12 years. Everyone was very comfortable with the space, and we knew the ins and outs of making it come to life. The Dixon Center is not only new to NOVAdance but also to Villanova as a whole. Therefore, there were a many unknowns when planning early on. We were not able to simply copy and paste a lot of the things we could in years past. Luckily, we were able to get over to Cabrini for a few walkthroughs to really solidify our plan. Despite being the first team to execute NOVAdance outside of Jake Nevin, I have the utmost confidence in our team to not only do it, but do it exceptionally well.”
However, the operations team does not work alone. In fact, members work with each member of the NOVAdance committee to ensure that all aspects of the Day Of are planned and executed beyond expectations.
“One unique thing that I have really loved about being on [operations] is that we truly collaborate with many of the other subcommittees,” Damon said. “A lot of our work involves coordinating operational efforts based on what the other subcommittees need and or want. We chat a lot with HR, the Sidekick and [engagement coordinator] leaders to plan how job groups will work on the Day Of, or ask them for help if we need more hands with a task. We also collaborated with Family Relations to plan where our B+ Heroes will enter in the new space, and really talk with all of the other subcommittees in between to chat about random questions that pop up. I love that we are able to work with so many people who are striving for the best possible day.”
While working closely with all subcommittees, the operations team specifically works closely with the other teams on the logistics committee, led by logistics director Annie Carr.
These committees include entertainment, art, decor, hospitality and operations.
Throughout the year, the biggest task for the operations team has been the layout for this upcoming Day Of.
“This is an entirely new building with different rooms, floors and outside areas, so translating and expanding on what we have previously done has been a challenge,” Cregan said. “Especially because we did not have easy access to the Dixon Center earlier on in the planning process.”
The move to Cabrini allows NOVAdance to grow.
“I was not on committee last year, but I was able to experience NOVAdance as a Sidekick in Jake Nevin and saw firsthand the value that expanding the marathon to the Cabrini Campus would bring,” Damon said. “This move allows NOVAdance to grow into a space that truly reflects how large this organization has become. With this move, we are now working with a lot more space, more say in where things can go, and more time for setup. This move, though new, allows NOVAdance to offer so much more and have a bigger impact. All of us on the operations team had a fresh set of eyes on the new space, while still building on what we had in Nevin in the years past.”
While attending NOVAdance this year, take a moment to appreciate the work behind the scenes.
