As a staff member at Invisible Children, I witness the organized chaos that goes into putting on their events. And an event the sheer size and magnitude of the 2013 Fourth Estate Summit? Well it’s not for the faint of heart. The thought and manpower that went into pulling it off literally took a village. And as a member of that village, I was totally engrossed and preoccupied with my role in the days, weeks, and months leading up to it. So much so, that I didn’t put much (or any) thought into what I personally would experience at the Summit. But in the five minutes that I’ve had to relax and reflect, I have compiled the five things I just didn’t see coming.
1. The workout
I feel like I’m in good shape. I do yoga, chase after my seven-year-old son, and could probably drop down & give you 20. But my legs were not prepared for the trek that is known as Bruin Walk. To walk from housing & dining to Royce Hall literally kicked my butt. I’m still baffled by it. I mean – it’s more or less a straight line with one large-ish hill. Fine, there are a ton of stairs that lead up to Royce, but cry me a river. My shins and calves will never be the same and think I burned off every single morsel of food I consumed and more. Which leads me to…
2. The food
Have you ever eaten at the Bellagio buffet in Las Vegas? If not, no worries, just visit UCLA. We had breakfast, lunch, and dinner prepared by what could only realistically have been 9,000 Keebler elves. There were food stations for days. Pizza, sandwiches, a salad bar with every topping known to man, a gazillion dressing options, cheeseburgers, gyros, hot dogs, pasta, soups, and a dessert bar that made me weep. And THE SOFT SERVE ICE CREAM. It’s probably not good to consume an ice cream cone 11 times a day, but I couldn’t care. And the best part? The endless food was included in participants’ cost of the Summit. I don’t know if my future will consist of encouraging people to attend the 2014 Summit or encouraging them to apply for college at UCLA. Just do both.
3. The fundraising
For sneak peek purposes, we shared our upcoming fall campaign with the participants at the Summit. Joseph Kony and his rebel army of 253 are currently holding 140 women and 72 children hostage in central Africa. We want those numbers to be zero. The #zeroLRA fundraising campaign will implement programs that show kidnapped women, children, and abducted fighters how and where it is safe to escape, and then help them return home and reintegrate into their communities. We encouraged attendees to get a jump start and set up fundraising pages with the goal of collectively raising $25,000 in the 48 hours they were at the Summit. Well. No one likes to be told what to do, so they rebelled and raised $28,340. Beyond blown away.
4. The arm
The Buried Life, who are in the bucket list business, not only agreed to speak at the Summit but they also agreed to make an IC supporter’s dream come true while there. Leading up to the event, the guys from The Buried Life had been collecting responses to the question “what do you want to do before you die” through our website. An 18-year-old named Torri was born without a right hand, and with the help of the Hanger Clinic, they granted her wish and are giving her a state-of-the-art bionic arm plus six months of physical therapy so that she can learn how to use it. The entire thing was unveiled onstage and everyone in attendance practically melted when it all went down. Including me.
5. The Ambassador
I knew that Samantha Power, the newly-appointed U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, was coming to the Summit to speak on the final night. I may have even known that it was her first public speech since getting sworn in earlier this month. But what I did not know is that she would be the most unassuming, gracious, eloquent, approachable, and empowering woman I have ever had the privilege to meet. Everything out of her mouth was gold but this was my favorite: “I had a hunch that this would be inspiring, but this is something else. You are not just any group of young people. You are young people who take seriously the charge to love your neighbor.”
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