As of this fall, St. Joe’s Student Union Board (SUB) has a new name, Hawk Hill Productions, and a new look.
Hawk Hill Productions will still be funded by student activity fees and run by students who are named to the executive board. These students organize activities on and off campus for undergraduate students.
“We wanted to do something fresh because what we do is valuable,” said Ella Neumann ’21, co-president of Hawk Hill Productions.
The rebranding was put into motion by Megan Azzalina, assistant director of Student Leadership and Activities, who serves as the group’s advisor.
Azzalina said when she came to the university in the fall of 2018, she began to evaluate the programs students were being offered. After several assessments of programs, it was decided that SUB should be revamped to better “meet the needs of students.”
Neumann said one of the overall reasons for the rebranding was decreased attendance at SUB-sponsored events. So far, the rebranding has helped improve attendance.
Tickets for a Sept. 28 trip to Hershey Park, sponsored by Hawk Hill Productions, sold out within two hours of being available, according to Neumann.
“Is it just the new hype?” Neumann asked. “Will it fade out? But that’s pretty exciting because our events weren’t doing that in the two years I’ve been a part of Student Union Board.”
Changes to the organization include the new name, “fresh new” events and new merchandise, such as lanyards and stickers, Neumann said. The organization also has a new visual identity through a new logo, featuring the bell tower from Barbelin Hall, nicknamed ‘Barb.’
“We talked about what represents St. Joe’s, what’ll get the name ‘Hawk Hill Productions’ out and how it’ll incorporate what we do,” said marketing manager Sarah Walker ’22. “We were thinking things that associate with St. Joe’s, so we thought, ‘Barb,’ perfect.”
There have been changes and improvements within the executive board itself as well, which was reorganized in the spring of 2019. Meghan Corona ’20, a member of the executive board since the spring semester of her first year, said she believes what hurt the success of SUB in the past was a lack of teamwork and sense of community.
“[Before rebranding], we acknowledged that it wasn’t going the way we want it to, and once we did that, we realized what we needed to fix,” Corona said. “But I think the rebranding put all the issues of SUB to rest. There’s a lot of new people, a lot of new ideas, and a lot of us don’t know what SUB ended as, so it’s good to have new people ready to be part of the new page of HHP.”
Walker said the change is also good for students who were at St. Joe’s under the old SUB.
“By being Hawk Hill Productions, we’re not only getting the attention of freshmen coming in, who are really into it, but we’re also getting the attention of sophomores, juniors, seniors who didn’t necessarily click with SUB,” Walker said.
Members of Hawk Hill Productions said they plan to keep the excitement going by organizing events that appeal to students.
“We’re sending out surveys to everyone who comes to an event, to try to make it more about what the students want, instead of just whoever’s on the board,” Neumann said.
At the beginning of the semester, Hawk Hill Productions organized Welcome Week and many other events for returning students, such as a trip to King of Prussia, Stand Up & Sliders with Bob’s Burgers, and Big Money Bingo, just to name a few.
“[This organization] just allows students to have opportunities that you might not get elsewhere,” Neumann said. “Like, Bob’s Burgers, John Roberts coming to campus, literally anyone could have walked up to him during the show. There’s just so many opportunities.”
While Neumann said now that the “grunt-work” of the rebranding is done, Hawk Hill Productions plans to keep improving to capitalize on its initial success.
“Each day, each week, each semester, you’re always going to want to change and be flexible,” Neumann said. ”Like in every organization, you constantly want to adapt to what the needs are of your audience. We’re just really strategically trying to focus on keeping the energy alive.”
Upcoming events this semester include a paintball trip on Nov. 16 and a New York City trip to a Radio City Rockettes show on Nov. 23. Next semester’s schedule has yet to be released.
