Love is in the air and HCC is no different, as the HCC Student Program Board (SPB) hosted their annual Valentine’s Day celebration in the Galleria. The HCC Times reached out to Zirabelle Bate of the HCC SPB to gain her insight on how the event was organized. 

What Valentine’s Day event did you most enjoy planning?

“Live music because I had to reach out to people that I don’t normally see, and I even performed Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” … I wanted to do something to get engaged.” 

What was the theme for this year’s Valentine’s day event?

“The SPB did not exactly have a theme for this Valentine’s Day event, but our goal was to have students show love to themselves and to others, which is why is why our main activity was called “make your own gift basket” … we had different stations with different items such as mini stuffed animals, candy, flowers and different flavored lip balms. The students could decide to keep the gift bags for themselves or they could give it to someone they care about.”

What were some challenges faced when planning this event?

“We faced the most challenges with getting the right amount of flowers and also making sure that they were of good quality. We also had less volunteers than we actually needed.”

Did the event turn out to be a success?

“The event started off a bit rocky, with a lot of people coming in at the same time and us not having enough volunteers to help them keep the order. We also had to start the student performances late because we needed some extra equipment. But after we got the majority of the crowd through, and we sorted things out with equipment, it turned out pretty good. We had a large turn-out and most of the students looked like they had a good time.”

What improvements could be made for the event?

“For the next event, some improvements that could be made would be to definitely order more supplies to serve the students. Also, making sure we advertise the event more so we could have more students volunteer to help out.”

The HCC Times also reached out to students who attended this event. There were people who liked the event such as HCC student and soccer defensive midfielder, Kyle Simmons, who shared his thoughts on the event.

What was the Valentine’s Day experience like?

“I enjoyed the Valentines Day Experience, as I was with my girlfriend doing things like getting flowers, a stuffed animal, and food as well.”

What was your favorite Valentine’s Day event?

“My favorite Valentine’s event was definitely getting flowers for my girlfriend.”

Did you enjoy the Valentine’s Day experience?

“Yes, I did enjoy the Valentine’s Day experience.”

What improvements can be made to Valentine’s Day?

“Improvements that could be made for the events include some rom-coms to watch and/or face painting together as couples.”

There were people who didn’t like the event much. HCC student and bass guitar player Michael Hicks shared his thoughts on the event. 

What was your favorite Valentine’s Day event?

“I didn’t really have a favorite event and didn’t spend enough time there because I had class, but if I had, I would say the cards because it is the most sentimental thing that could have been done.”

Did you enjoy the Valentine’s day experience?

“Not particularly, because as the performer for the event I didn’t have enough time to rehearse. And there was no drummer, so we couldn’t stay on time.”

What improvements could be made to Valentine’s Day?

“Better planning for music, because I didn’t have enough time to prepare.”

Overall, the HCC community had some different takes and opinions on how the Valentine’s Day event went. Despite it having an iffy start, with people coming in late and not having enough volunteers, the SPB found a way to make the event enjoyable for the HCC community.