Conference Services hosts events during break

The office of Conference and Event Support Services (CESS) has been busy hosting non-university groups all summer, and will continue to do so until students start to arrive back on campus for the start of the fall semester.

CESS started the summer off by hosting their most regularly held program, Music in May. The estimated 70th year of the event brought nearly 400 high school students to the Forest Grove campus, all of whom participate in band, orchestra or choir. Their culminated talents resulted in three large scale concerts held in Pacific’s performing arts space.

Outside the 20 regular groups and organizations welcomed each year at Pacific, the CESS office was presented with new opportunities this summer. To the excitement of students and local businesses alike, more filming was held on Pacific’s picturesque grounds just weeks ago.

Pacific’s old brick buildings and green fields served as the perfect backdrop to the Go90 web series “In The Vault.” The drama thriller series follows the life of a college freshman who was found dead just a month into the start of a new school year.

Pacific’s grounds and buildings can be seen in all exterior shots, while the interior shots for the series are set to be filmed at a rented building in nearby Cornelius.

The web series follows in the footsteps of “Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists,” which filmed its pilot on Pacific’s campus earlier this year. There might be even more filming done on Pacific’s campus in relation to “The Perfectionists,” now that the show has been picked up for a 10-episode first season.

CESS also welcomed the AAVS optometry program, RAW Dance Recitals, the class of 1968 reunion and the NW Big Brass Band this summer.

All of these events and conference were made possible by the CESS team, comprised of their permanent office staff, led by Senior Director Lois Hornberger, with additional help coming from student workers.

“Our office hires 10 to 12 students every summer to help make these conference and events possible,” Hornberger said. “These students handle all the cleaning, set up, takedown, bed-making and technology assists.”

If students are interested in this type of work, the CESS looks to hire about six students for the extent of the academic year to help with regular events, conferences and managing the performing arts series.