“If it’s free, it’s for me.” This is the motto college students live by and that CollegeFest, a free event at Fenway where 70+ businesses give out free stuff, embodies. I had always wanted to attend this back-to-school event, but each year work, a trip home or something of that sort would come up. When I was asked by a former Her Campus at Emmanuel member if I would be interested in being an ambassador for the event, I knew this was my chance to finally participate in CollegeFest before graduating in addition to learning more about event promotion.
Through a series of marketing and promotional assignments to get the word out about CollegeFest to Emmanuel students, I learned all about the history and details of the event. It’s around for over 30 years, and brings 10,000 students together to learn about local brands, programs and opportunities. Some years they have even had live performances and the opportunity to take pictures with a World Series trophy.
Photo courtesy of Victoria Harding
After putting up fliers, sending emails, tabling and a variety of other projects, I agreed to work the event. On September 21st, a beautiful Saturday morning, I walked over to Fenway Park and into the excitement of preparing for the big day about to unfold. Other ambassadors, employees of the event and I helped companies unpack their samples, set up pop-up stands and find everything they needed for the big day. This also allowed me to grab some free samples and meet the vendors, all of whom were generous and passionate about what they were doing!
At 11:00 am, people poured in, and Fenway started overflowing with students from all over Boston. I stood by the entrance and handed people bags to hold their samples! Some of the companies there included Citizen’s Bank, Dunkin’ Donuts, 5-Hour Energy, Handshake and Chegg. Personally, my favorite vendors to visit on my breaks were Anna’s Taqueria (who can say no to chips and salsa?) and a long-time favorite of mine, Hubert’s Lemonade!
Photo courtesy of Victoria Harding
I worked until 4, and the entire time was a rush of seeing familiar Emmanuel faces browsing the tables, getting to know the awesome people I worked with and curating my own collection of free stuff. It was a long and hot, but a totally fulfilling day, and I was so happy with my experience both promoting and working at the event. I am still using some of my samples, including Hello Toothpaste. If you have never been to this event, I definitely recommend going next year!