Saturday, July 24, 2004

A Day in the Life....
Posted by a.irving@neu.edu"> at 6:49 PM -

Saturday, July 24, 2004 -- I arrived at Northeastern University (NU) around 1:30 p.m. not truly realizing the full responsibility of a Team Captain. However, there were several things that I did know: I knew that I had 16 team volunteers scheduled to work this week in West Village A (WV-A) (I had previously e-mailed or called each volunteer member to verify their schedules), that the Montana delegation was staying at NU, and that there would be a Boston 2004 table with handouts. I also knew that I had a number of open shifts that needed volunteers. The night before I stopped by WV-A to see the reception area layout and to be sure that I knew where to go.

When I arrived on Saturday my first volunteer, due to start at 2:00 p.m., was there. She was familiarizing herself with the materials and getting acquainted with the other volunteers. However, sitting at the table were two Boston 2004 volunteers, individuals that were not on my list. They had been here since 10:00 a.m. This is when I learned that there were three Team Leaders at NU (who each had 16 volunteers), and 4 host sites (West Village A, West Village H, Davenport A, and Davenport B.) The Davenport sites are located on Columbus Avenue, which is on the other side of campus.

Adjacent to our table was the NU Residential Life Summer staff's table. Their table was the equivalent to a hotel's Reception Desk, Housekeeping, and Concierge booth -- all in one. They gave guests their towels, blankets, pillows too.

Guests staying at NU included not only the Montana delegation but also media staff, students from other schools, security staff, and delegation staff. The Montana delegation stayed primarily at the WV-A site.

The common denominator among Team Leaders was that we were affiliated with the University. Two of us are staff and one is a graduate student in the law school. This arrangement made sense as we had access and knowledge of NU in a way that a non-NU affiliate would not have, i.e, knowledge of local stores and eateries, short-cuts across campus, and alternative meeting spaces. The two Team Leaders and I met for an hour this afternoon to trouble-shoot and to devise a master schedule. This proved quite useful as it gave us a chance to get to know each other, share our schedules which helped us fill in the empty shifts.

Our new master schedule covered all four NU sites. We also devised a plan for replacing no-show volunteers by using current volunteers or by calling headquarters for on-call volunteers.

Today we experienced our first no-shows of volunteers who I guess dropped out without notice to us. We quickly had put our replacement plan into action. I wished the on-call center's plan were as coordinated as our new master schedule. We had our first no-shows from the call center as well.

So as you can see, my first day was a learning and troubleshooting experience. I am thankful for the NU Res life staff as they too are very knowledgeable about the campus and the surrounding area. Their presence made the Boston 2004 volunteers' job much easier.

The volunteers are great and enthusiastic. By the time I left at 7:30 p.m. the 6:00 volunteers were in place and ready to greet.

Angela Irving

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