By leaning in to corn and musical aspects of the 2024 homecoming theme, the Center for Academic Success and Transition emerged victorious in the office decorating contest during the week of festivities at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Lynnette Sallinger, administrative coordinator, registered the office and said it was a great way for their staff to add to the spirit of the week.
“I think it’s a great idea to start a new tradition of decorating our door every year for homecoming and showcasing our students,” Sallinger said. “It’s another opportunity to highlight them and celebrate them.”
Twenty-six offices were judged as part of the contest. The CAST office took the “Cornchella” theme to create a musical motif inspired by Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Dan Hutt, a senior program coordinator, brought in a bass guitar and an amp. A paper ear of corn on the door labeled “Our A-maize-ing Band” showed photos of staff members and student workers on each kernel.
Sallinger said they wanted to prioritize shining a light on their student workers.
“They are the backbone to our office,” she said. “Our coaches teach classes and our peer mentors are so important to what we do helping students here on campus get connected and be involved on campus. We couldn’t do what we do without them.”
Other touches to the display included cornstalks that Colleen Cameron, a senior program coordinator at CAST, brought to the office from near her home near Seward and a disco ball from a student worker.
Sallinger said everyone she spoke to in the CAST office was immediately ready to work together to create the display.
“I registered for it right away before we even talked about it in our team meeting,” she said. “When we brought it up to the rest of the team, everybody was super excited. We are all very competitive, so we were game on for a contest.”
Hollie Swanson, who leads this year’s committee, said they wanted to create an event to include as many people across campus as possible.
“It was our mission this year to incorporate activities into the schedule that allowed everyone from the UNL community — including faculty and staff — to showcase their school spirit and celebrate the week of events,” Swanson said.
