On Thursday, December 10th, HAUS at 623 S Wabash was packed with students as the annual YouYear event continued its tradition of showcasing freshman talent. This event was also produced by freshman students. For the first time in Columbia College Chicago history four classes, all sections of Introduction to Management, collaborated to produce the event.

Over 80 outside participants joined the classes for a night of comedy, music, and spoken word. Participants also had the opportunity to enjoy food from local sponsors including Devil Dawgs, Pauly’s Pizza, and Whistler’s. YouYear was not just a showcase of talent but also recognition of the talent in the department. All donations collected contributed to the Business & Entrepreneurship Department scholarship fund. The event wrapped up with a DJ’d dance party.

Jessica Sanchez, the Marketing team lead, gave a little insight on the planning process.

“Definitely working with fours classes was very hard. It was very tough communicating. As far as getting sponsors and the marketing aspect, a lot of classes helped with that such as Entertainment Marketing and Intro to Management.”

Although challenging, the students ended the semester with success after long weeks of meeting deadlines, securing hard-earned sponsors, and gathering freshman talent to showcase.

YouYear offers a great opportunity to all students in the Learning Communities to gain new skills and even make new friends in these classes. Although Jessica had a clear interest when starting her college career as a Music Business Management major, she began to realize that she loved Events Management as well.

“I learned that I really loved events management. I loved overseeing a team and being on a leadership team. It made me realize that I do love managing others and the communication skills it takes to lead others.”

This year’s four Learning Communities that produced YouYear were led by Cara Dehnert Huffman, Alex Fruchter, Dawn Larsen, and Ryan Smith.