NAU\u00a0is more than lectures,\u00a0deadlines\u00a0and degrees:\u00a0It is a place for community,\u00a0connection\u00a0and success. This is why the students and staff who are part of SUN Entertainment dedicate their time to creating student-centered experiences that bring people together.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Doug Quick,\u00a0<\/span><\/b>SUN Entertainment\u2019s manager,\u00a0said\u00a0students run all\u00a0aspects\u00a0of the planning,\u00a0marketing\u00a0and\u00a0management\u00a0of the events\u00a0with\u00a0his\u00a0assistance.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u00a0create opportunities for student engagement on campus,\u201d Quick said.\u00a0\u201cResearch shows\u00a0that this\u00a0helps tie students together, directly\u00a0impacting\u00a0graduation rates.\u00a0The positions held by SUN student employees range from graphic designers, videographers, photographers, crew coordinators, marketing coordinators, event managers, a social media team and event staff who help the event managers run\u00a0all\u00a0the events.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Emilee McArdle,<\/span><\/b>\u00a0a senior\u00a0majoring in business management\u00a0who\u00a0has\u00a0worked\u00a0with SUN for\u00a02.5\u00a0years,\u00a0said\u00a0the skills she has learned and the confidence she has gained\u00a0during her time at SUN\u00a0have been\u00a0valuable\u00a0for her future.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA lot of the things I have learned aren\u2019t taught in the classroom,\u201d McArdle said. \u201cI feel I have learned a lot of skills that I can apply to my classes and my work, like how to send an email, how to meet with people, how to work with groups and clubs and how to work with vendors and senior faculty.\u00a0I think the biggest thing I have learned\u00a0is\u00a0to improve my\u00a0communication skills and\u00a0just\u00a0be\u00a0comfortable\u00a0when\u00a0reaching out and talking to people.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s\u00a0something\u00a0with which\u00a0her SUN\u00a0co-worker,\u00a0<\/span>Miranda Theisen<\/span><\/b>, an environmental science\u00a0junior who has been working with SUN since her\u00a0freshman\u00a0year,\u00a0agrees.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Quick, who has been managing SUN for almost nine years, believes students are not only learning skills that they can use for years to come, but also learning how to work professionally.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u00a0am always impressed with\u00a0how well the\u00a0students\u00a0can handle themselves,\u201d Quick said. \u201cI get a lot of compliments from people at all levels about how they love working with SUN students because of how professional they are. We run SUN as a professional company,\u00a0and the students learn\u00a0skills that they can take with them and do really\u00a0big things\u00a0outside of school.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Quick said their events are\u00a0well-attended and vary in size and type. His favorites\u00a0are\u00a0the bigger events, like concerts, Earth Jam,\u00a0Welcome\u00a0Week\u00a0and the dive-in movie\u00a0that takes place once a year at the\u00a0Wall Aquatic Center.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n McArdle and Theisen agreed that\u00a0the most popular\u00a0event on campus\u00a0is\u00a0Wingo, where they get students together to play\u00a0bingo and eat\u00a0wings. This event takes place once a month at the\u00a0du\u00a0Bois\u00a0Ballroom.\u00a0However, McArdle\u2019s favorite is\u00a0open\u00a0mic, where students sing, perform poetry or do comedy, creating a sense of community among everyone in attendance.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy favorite part of working for SUN is planning behind the scenes, setting it all up and seeing it work just how you wanted it to work,\u201d\u00a0Theisen\u00a0said. \u201cWhen you see the students having a great time knowing\u00a0you planned\u00a0that, it\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI enjoy working with students and seeing them create all these relationships,\u201d Quick said. \u201cBeing at these events they put together, seeing large lines of students waiting to get inside and leaving with other people they meet at the events to later come back with them and others, that is so satisfying because that is why SUN exists, to create those relationships and tie people to campus and give them that sense of community.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n SUN events are promoted in the\u00a0<\/span>NAU event calendar<\/span><\/a>, the\u00a0True\u00a0Blue\u00a0events\u00a0calendar<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Instagram<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and with banners around campus. For event information and behind-the-scenes videos, visit\u00a0<\/span>SUN Entertainment\u2019s YouTube<\/span><\/a>\u00a0page.\u00a0If you are interested in working for SUN Entertainment, send an email to\u00a0<\/span>sun.ent@nau.edu<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Students](\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Dance-Party.jpg\")
<\/a>SUN\u2014which stands for Student Union Network\u2014\u00a0designs\u00a0multiple\u00a0campus\u00a0events\u00a0every year, including\u00a0concerts, comedy shows,\u00a0movie\u00a0screenings,\u00a0tournaments\u00a0and craft nights.\u00a0Each event\u00a0offers\u00a0students\u00a0an\u00a0opportunity\u00a0to relax, have fun, make connections outside of the\u00a0classroom\u00a0and build a sense of community and belonging.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Quick said the 30-40 student employees\u00a0who\u00a0are part of SUN\u00a0learn\u00a0business and life skills\u00a0by\u00a0doing\u00a0everything behind the\u00a0scenes:\u00a0working with vendors,\u00a0creating a budget,\u00a0preparing the grounds, designing the\u00a0logistics\u00a0and running\u00a0events.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cI have learned a lot of communication skills\u00a0by talking to vendors and people on site, even just learning how to get an invoice from a company,\u201d Theisen said. \u201cI have also learned to achieve a work-life balance,\u00a0figuring\u00a0out how to work and be a student at the same time.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>SUN is\u00a0composed of\u00a0students\u00a0from several\u00a0different majors\u00a0and\u00a0grade\u00a0levels but\u00a0tends to recruit\u00a0freshmen\u00a0and sophomores\u00a0who live on campus and can\u00a0likely stay\u00a0working\u00a0for the organization\u00a0for the\u00a0remainder\u00a0of their time at NAU.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>For Quick, the impact of what SUN does is palpable when their events are taking place.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Mariana Laas | NAU Communications
(928) 523-5050 | mariana.laas@nau.edu<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n