Humber Staff Holiday Party: New Challenges & Successes
Tags: Vol. 1, Issue 2, December 2020
The Humber Staff and Children’s Holiday Party is an annual celebration funded by the Office of the President. The event aims to create a joyful, inclusive attendee experience and create a sense of community among staff and their family during the holidays. Over the last few years, the party was held in person at the Lakeshore Campus, L Building.
In 2020, The Office of the Principal partnered with Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness (HROE) to act as clients for the third-year Public Relations Degree students as an opportunity for experiential learning in their event management class. After careful considerations about the health and safety of the staff, the event was moved virtually with a new theme highlighting the 12 Days of Holidays. The students, along with their professor, Daniel Schneider, had the chance to go through the entire event planning process from inception to execution. Moving the event to a virtual format provided an interesting planning element this year, allowing many students to have to learn on-the-go and adapt, and to develop multimedia and video editing skills to keep up with the current world of virtual events.
For 2020, they planned a 12-day experience from November 17th – 28th, with a combination of pre-recorded tutorials and live events for attendees to be immersed in. Humber staff, family and friends, enjoyed 12 days of daily fun-filled games, activities, and crafts, from cookie baking to singalongs, storytelling, and of course, a virtual visit with Santa!
Quotes from Elva Massey and Michelle Trumper (HROE)
“The HROE division of Humber has welcomed the opportunity to collaborate in a few college initiatives with the Office of the Principal - Lakeshore campus and participating on the committee for the 12 Days of Holidays was no exception! Working with Kavelle Maharaj, Stephanie Byer and Dan Schneider on the event committee was very enjoyable for us - having input and providing feedback every step of the way.”
“The cohesiveness of the Public Relations students was evident throughout as they embraced the planning and execution of this annual event for the first time, and for the first time, on-line. The student groups showed qualities of professionalism, perseverance and creativity moving through the activity planning. They were gracious in acceptance of feedback and implementing changes when needed. HROE was so pleased to partner with the Office of the Principal - Lakeshore campus for this annual event”
“Overall, working with their Professor, Dan Schneider, the Public Relations students excelled in the delivery of the holiday programming. Thank you to all for the efforts, leadership and organization to execute a really wonderful and fun event for Humber employees and their families this holiday season. HROE looks forward to future events in collaboration with the Office of the Principal – Lakeshore Campus.”
PR Student Quotes
"The Humber Holiday Party taught me valuable lessons about leadership, problem solving and adaptability. I knew this year would be different given the virtual format; that difference forced us to be innovative and to create experiences we wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise. I think we walked away more equipped than ever to handle future events." - Chloe Villeneuve, Bachelor of Public Relations Student, third-year
"Planning and organizing the holiday party was a tremendous experience from choosing the most suitable video conferencing platform to coordinating with fellow group members." - Ali Shahsamand, Bachelor of Public Relations, third-year student
Kavelle Maharaj’s twins showing off their homemade holiday card
Jessica Tattersall’s children excited for their virtual visit with Santa and Ms. Claus
One of the participant's enjoying the snowman craft
Participants crafting holiday centre pieces