Out of this World Donuts and Music

By Rachel Stevens

Galaxy themed donuts, live performances, and a photo booth were all parts of what made “Space Jams and Joe,” hosted by Program Board on Thursday April 25, an “out of this world” event.

The big draw to this event was the final raffle prize. Anyone attending was eligible to win a pair of Apple AirPods. The AirPods were won by junior biomedical engineering major Kaelin Martin.

Even amongst students beginning to cram for finals, a crowd of 220 supportive Cardinals came to munch on donuts and coffee while watching their friends perform songs on the stage in the Pryz great rooms.

The event was planned by sophomore Program Board member and architecture major Joseph Hehl.

“‘Jams and Joe’ is a Program Board annual event and it always has a theme. The underlying content of the event is an open mic night with coffee,” said Hehl. “Last year, the theme was beach inspired, and the year before that it was Retro/80’s themed.”

The event has been in the works since late February. Hehl, alongside senior programming chair Meghan Crawford, worked on having great activities and prizes besides the performances.

There were three prize baskets in addition to the final raffle of the AirPods. Raffles included the “Out-of-this-World” basket, an “Astronaut Essentials” package, and a “Blast off Into Summer” package, including various snacks, school supplies, and Catholic University items.

In order to win a package or basket, students had to win a round of Kahoot. Kahoot is a fun online platform to make quizzes where people compete to win points each question. The night had three Kahoot games, one for each prize package or basket, and the rounds all coincided with questions about space themed movies, music, and general science questions.  

This is Hehl’s first year on Program Board, as he is a sophomore currently.

“I have loved my time on Program Board this semester. It was a lot of work, but so much fun,” Hehl said.

Alongside the 11 performances, a photobooth was available for attendees to hold up different space themed props in front of a sparkly background and smile for a polaroid.

“Space Jams and Joe’ and open mic night in general is an awesome opportunity for students to showcase their talents, which are sometimes not shared outright with the CUA community,”said Michael Mohr-Ramirez, a sophomore politics major who performed songs on the guitar and piano, including an original song. “I was reluctant to perform in March, but after I did I definitely wanted to go again in April. Everyone was really supportive.”

Overall, the night was a great way for students to kick back and enjoy their time together over music and food before the stress of finals kicks in.