As VTSU Castleton students gather at campus events and activities, there is a dedicated group working behind the scenes to ensure the best quality is being delivered.

Campus Activity Board (CAB) members might operate quietly, but their hard work and influence on student life is felt throughout the Castleton campus. CAB members work diligently throughout the year to plan, prep, and execute events.

In preparation for the semester ahead, they attend regional and national conferences at the Association for Campus Activities.

“We have dinner showcases and lunch showcases where the performers will step on a stage and give us a five-minute showing of what they bring to our campus and why we should bring them,” said Thomas Kehoe, vice president of CAB.

Bringing in outside performers, including musicians, poets, magicians and comedians, allows students to attend, relax and watch the show in front of them. During the semester, these events are combined with more interactive activities like Tie Dye nights or giveaway events, like Casino Night or Bingo Night.

While planning homegrown events, CAB aims to be interactive with student body ideas and opinions. They send out surveys to get an idea of what kind of activities students want to attend, along with hosting events like Dining with CAB in Huden, which allows members to speak to students directly.

“We try to manage events through the seasons. We have a lot of scavenger hunts and we don’t want to have people outside in the cold, so we try to do it in the spring or we do it inside,” said Alex Kehoe, Thomas’ brother and assistant to the vice president.

CAB also partners with different clubs across campus to ensure the events going on are related to what students are involved in. Engaging with clubs allows CAB to understand the variety of interests that students have.

“A lot of students are involved in clubs. Those are the ones we really want to reach out to because those are the involved students. It’s a lot harder to reach out to the non-involved ones,” said Thomas Kehoe.

Castleton students have a lot of interest in attending CAB events, especially the ones where they can spend time with their friends – and win prizes in the process.

“We love going to super bingo. Last year I actually won a jacuzzi,” said sophomore Chance Jaquin.

Ensuring students are aware of events happening is a big component of getting them to attend. Social media is how CAB best reaches students. They do this through their Instagram posts, and stories, as well as posting on TikTok. Reaching students through pictures of CAB events is crucial.

“We also do posts with pictures from all of the events … it’s so people see what the events look like and engage and gain interest of the event. We do bingo every semester. People see bingo pictures and see how many other people go,” said Jenna Robinson, chair of Social Media for CAB.

Within CAB, every member has different responsibilities. Each person’s jobs allow CAB to operate as a whole entity, letting the group flow easily.

“Campus Activities is where I put my heart and soul into… I do what I can to better the campus in every way,” said Thomas Kehoe.

Robinson explains that as Social Media chair, she has more of an overseeing position.“I’m very fortunate to have amazing board members, who are very good at their job… they just get it done, which is wonderful,” she said.Alex Kehoe explains his responsibilities as trying to “help out people when they need it.”“They can come to me if they have any issues with members, officers, or even the vice president. I won’t judge, I won’t be biased. I can help them straight up,” he said.

His roles also include stepping up in the absence of the vice president at meetings, CAB events, and other ways to help take tasks to help the VP.

“Everybody has different skill sets, which is what’s wonderful about being human. We’re different people we have different skill sets and we can enhance the group by being able to give those skill sets. It is really awesome to see how CAB changes every year with a new group of people,” Robinson said. “We love seeing your faces.”

CAB meets at 12:15 every Tuesday in the SGA Office. Stay up to date on CAB events on Instagram and Tik-Tok @castleton.cab