Winter Semi-Formal

Since you all leave this weekend, this won’t be your usual TWAN - instead, it is time for our annual Semi-Formal Shout-Outs! This event takes quite the team, and I am so thankful for every person who pitched in to make it happen. This was my first Semi-Formal as Student Activities Coordinator, and I absolutely could not have done it without the help of all these wonderful people. 

Semi-Formal 2023 started as just a vision of gemstones, and it was truly a labor of love to turn it into the crystalline cavern that it became. I am so pleased with how it turned out, and I hope you all had a wonderful time and truly enjoyed yourselves before your final exams!

(By the way, Hunt kitchen will be closing for the Winter holidays on Friday (12/8) at 12:00pm. Please take care to clean up after yourselves and to dispose of any perishable food that belongs to you before Friday at 12:00pm.)

And now, for my endless gratitude: 

• Justin Plummer, the mustachioed miracle man himself, for being the glue that held SAB (and my sanity) together throughout semi-formal season, for always entertaining my nonsense while keeping me realistic, for sacrificing his office to the cause of hanging crystals, for risking permanent face scaring for the sake of hanging up crystals covered in crushed glass, being unafraid in the face of epoxy, for his careful collection of cardboard through the past several months, for his endless steps given to the cause of rolling our parade of carts, for organizing our campus service folks, for managing all of this while also sponsoring Africa Fest (you are absolutely wild for doing all of this at once), and for always being able to reach the high places.

• Jennifer Ashe for her constant support of SAB and her commitment to the semi-precious vision, for always celebrating a fun color scheme, for her impressive ability to bedazzle some crystalline cardboard, her remarkable zhuzhing and detail work, for being so brave when a mouse appeared in the electrical room, and for mopping like nobody’s business.

• Vanessa Ponce for diving headfirst into SAB chaos and embracing the mess that blocked her office for weeks on end, for being more than willing to jump in and help us, and overall being the hero we never knew we needed.

• To all the SAB students who contributed their vision, opinions, and helping hands to the semi-formal cause. To the butcher, the baker, the cardboard crystal makers: Haley Best, Abby Sanders, Christian McFaden, MacKenzie Sanford, Rishika Jalagam, Rilyn Miller, Joanna Hu, Natasha Bishop, Maya Lodhi, Ava Snider, Nikitha “Nikki G” Gogineni, Eliott Wait & friends, Divya Nair, Lily Heffner, Saachi Arun, and Chris Rozario. To our set-up crew, including Madeline “Maddy G” Gordon, Tisha Ulak, Hollis Mang, Campbell Poppler, Rilyn, Erin Bienstock, Eliott, Aadiya Dasgupta, Prisha Patel, Christian, Joanna, Sabrina Yeh, Paige Olalere, Natasha, Ava, and Divya. To Natasha again for staying behind Saturday night and helping us clean up! (I know at least one of you has slipped past my thank you list, but I am grateful for you nonetheless!)

• Maddy G for being such a good sport when she was the only person who voted for Semi-Sweet, even though JP was literally rolling on the floor laughing.

• Abby Sanders for seeing me pull a full-on Sisyphus fighting for my life pushing a cart of 600 Izzes and helping me after I said “I’m good!” (I was, in fact, NOT good)

• To Lily Heffner and Ava Snider for hosting our annual gingerbread house building contest, and to all of our contestants! You are all winners in my book (and literally, you all win!)

• To our dedicated and skilled Q2 SAB Campus Service Students, who have been “in the mines” for weeks now - Thanks Silas, Garrett, Nathalie, Aanandi, Shreya, Vasu, Max, Steven, and Lyd!

• To all 31 Third Beall residents for pardoning my absence on hall as I worked on Semi, for always keeping me laughing, and for being really good eggs. Y’all are my actual children and have my heart - ILYSM!

• Bec Conrad and Shalane Hairston, our Fabulous FabLab Friends, for developing our crystal prototypes, for teaching Leslie and me how to solder (even though we weren’t very good at it), for 3D printing us beautiful crystals during the craze of final projects, and for not laughing in Justin’s face when he was going to use the jigsaw as a drill.

• Michael Newbauer for his careful curation of dessert trays and making sure we were always stocked on food. You more than earned your little snack!

• All the cardboard bringers - thanks for helping keep Semi thrifty!

• To Terry Lynch for his constant and continued support of Student Activities and for accepting many DJ emails that surely filled his inbox!

• The NCSSM Foundation for their support in making SAB’s Winter Semi-Formal and student activities that occur all throughout the year possible.

• Leslie Knight, Cassidy Allen, Kelse McAdon, Alex Currin, Axel Battista and all the CCs who gave their break working hours to the semi-formal cause by (attempting, at least) to make decor, by pulling and testing lights, by inventorying all our supplies, and being overall wonderful

• Wesley Morris, Greg Powell, Antavious Ashe, and Hope Gambill for driving our dinner loops and helping out our stragglers by keeping the vans running longer than planned!

• To the event support CC project team: Hannah Davis, Greg Powell, and Antavious Ashe! Thanks for putting up with all that I ask of you.

• To the CC staff for handling calls and questions about the event and for helping with Semi food deliveries. A special shout out to the M/W CC Crew for being our Semi-Formal Duty Team, helping us to ensure all of our parent volunteers, online students, and off-campus guests were accounted for and directed to the Gym, and for handling all the things.

• Vee Olgin and Janie Wang for coming in to help us with clean-up needs on Saturday night, I literally almost cried when I saw you come in through the door!

• Sue Anne Lewis for being a PEC pro and helping get all of our online students to campus, and to both Sue Anne and Kelley for being my sounding board and being able to read my mind!

• Ross Knight and Randall Spence for being the best co-SCCs a gal could ask for, working tirelessly behind-the-scenes, always reminding me to take care of myself and ask for help, and only sometimes making fun of me.

• Trish Aiello for dutifully organizing all of our parent volunteers and helping us make sure we had plenty of hands and treats!sha

• To all of our parent volunteers for sending treats for our students to enjoy. Thanks to our food service helpers and chaperones - Jennifer Wildman, Paige Bennet, Shelby Miller, Jan Fine, Yulia Bryantseva, Alex Medved, Srikanth and Shailaja Goli, Jill and Matthew Mullins, and Jane and Will Bullock. A special thank you to Stefanie Etienne for going above and beyond the call of duty and being a huge help during clean-up!

• To Shawain Loritts for giving us the green light on storing 600 Izzes in the fridge!

• Campus Safety for being a huge help in working out the lighting and heating in the PEC, with special thanks to Clayton for his electrical wizardry and Jim for keeping me laughing through the event!

• To Todd Roberts, Brian Wiggs, Ryan Severance, and any other NCSSM faculty/staff who may have eluded me night-of for joining us on campus and helping supervise the event!

• To Scott Laird for happily sharing the gym with us before the Sunday afternoon fine arts performances!

• To Taylor Parsons for setting me up for success this year with all the work he put in through his time as Student Activities Coordinator. Huge chacos to fill!

• The entire Plant Facilities team for setting up the gym for Semi and for their continued support of SAB projects and events.

• Jimmy Horner for cranking the woolworth temp up to 75 degrees for Justin’s personal epoxy studio (those geodes RULED) and helping us keep the gym cool!

• Connor Willoughby, husband of the year, for being SAB’s biggest supporter not employed by the state of North Carolina. For keeping me company while I climbed up and down a ladder until 2AM, for carrying so many boxes, for putting on his Third Beall shirt to enter “dad mode,” and for refilling my water bottle when I’m too tired to get out of the bed (and even when I’m not).

...and that's a wrap on Semi-Precious!

With glitter and love,

Kori

NCSSM’s Winter Semi-Formal is Saturday, December 2 from 8:30pm - 10:55pm in the PEC Gymnasium and I am excited to announce that the theme for this year’s dance is Semi-Precious! Students are in for a treat as we light up the night on this magical and crystal-filled occasion – Semi 2023 is sure to be a fun and relaxing evening with music, dancing, sweet and savory treats, sparkling beverages, and festive decor!

As this is a special event, we request that students wear semi-formal attire. You can always use Google for more specific examples, but appropriate attire includes a dressy skirt, shirt and tie (jacket optional), dress pants, a dress, and dress shoes. If you are unsure of the appropriateness of what you plan to wear, please don't hesitate to ask Kori Willoughby, Justin Plummer, Jennifer Ashe, or your CC.

Dinner out has always been a popular part of the Semi experience and this year is no different! 9th Street and Downtown dinner loops will depart from Bryan lobby beginning at 5pm and run until 8:30pm Saturday night. NCSSM employees will be driving up and down 9th Street and to Downtown Durham (and returning to the Bryan circle) throughout the evening--be sure to thank your driver for making these loops possible! Ninth Street loops will drop off and pick up in the Erwin Square Mill parking lot (near the Harris Teeter). Downtown loops will drop-off and pick up at the American Tobacco Campus. Seating is available first come, first served so please be patient as you await the next available shuttle.

Dinner options on 9th Street include Lime & Lemon, Wheat, Szechuan Mansion, Chicken Bee, ZenFish, Blue Corn Cafe, Juju, Burger Bach, Vin Rouge, Moe's Original BBQ, Alpaca, and many others.

Dinner options downtown near the American Tobacco Campus include Mellow Mushroom, Parker & Otis, Seraphine, Press, Moe's, Nanasteak, and many others in Downtown Durham.

In addition to our van loops, we will also allow groups to walk from campus and back down 9th Street (including the Erwin Mill area, e.g., Guasaca, Parizade, and Local 22) and Broad Street (from The Loop to Sho Nuff Seafood) until 7:30pm for this special occasion. Groups should include 3 or more people; please make plans to return to campus by 7:30pm.

I encourage everyone to dress warmly for waiting outside since the forecast is looking chilly and to wear comfortable shoes. I also recommend making reservations ahead of Saturday evening to avoid long waits and arrive early to make sure your van loop can get you there on time!

Guests are allowed at Semi-Formal! If you wish to bring a non-NCSSM student to Semi-Formal with you, please sign them in at Bryan Desk and follow our usual visitor guidelines (p. 39 of the Student Handbook). All guests should depart from NCSSM campus before 10:55pm.

Want to be part of the decor fun? Join us in the student center anytime Tuesday - Thursday from 1:30-8:00pm or pop by the SAB meeting Thursday night at 8pm! If Kori or Justin aren't around, we'll be back! Pop by a little while later :)

If you have any questions, please email sab@ncssm.edu.

Each year, SAB extends an invitation to NCSSM families to be involved with Semi. Parents, guardians, and alumni are encouraged to volunteer or to provide refreshments for the dance.
Popular contributions for past dances have included cheese and crackers, holiday cookies, mini biscuits, and rice crispy treats. Sweet and savory options are greatly appreciated but we do ask, for the ease of setup and serving, that families provide food items that do not require utensils or re-heating in order to eat or serve.

Most items can be dropped off in-person at the Bryan delivery table or delivered to 1219 Broad Street, Durham, NC 27705, Attn: Kori Willoughby / SAB. Perishable items can be dropped off closer to 12/2; just let us know when to expect them and we’ll stop by Bryan lobby to pick them up! Please address any deliveries attention: Kori Willoughby / SAB.
Cheese & cracker trays and fruit trays have been popular in the past and can be ordered online or from local grocery stores. I would recommend reaching out early to make sure that all orders can be accommodated given the busy holiday season.
***Due to staffing availability, all deliveries must be dropped off at the Bryan lobby. Unfortunately we are not able to accommodate pick ups from specific vendors but we are very appreciative of your support in making these sweet and savory treats available for students.***

Below I’ve included contact information for several local grocery stores.

• Harris Teeter (919-286-1500, 2107 Hillsborough Rd.) - this is the closest Harris Teeter to campus; in case this Harris Teeter is unable to accommodate your order, there are two additional Harris Teeter locations nearby.

  • Harris Teeter (919-220-5761, 1802 N Pointe Dr, Durham, NC 27705)

  • Harris Teeter (919-383-2249, 3457 Hillsborough Rd., Durham, NC 27705)

• Costco (919-220-2770, 1510 N Pointe Dr.)

• Food Lion (919-309-0385, 4621 Hillsborough Rd.)

Another exciting opportunity for you to be involved is to volunteer during the dance! Three shifts are available: 8:15-9:30pm, 9:15-10:30pm, and 10:15-11:30pm. Volunteers typically help chaperone or assist with food service by restocking our food tables and serving drinks. Volunteering also allows folks to see our students all dressed up and enjoying themselves!

You can sign up to provide refreshments or to volunteer via our SignUpGenius event page.

Thanks in advance for your interest in being a part of this event! Last year's Winter Semi-Formal was a huge success in large part to the overwhelming generosity of our students and their families. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!