Q&A with CAB director Kayla Defoe

The Towerlight sat down with senior business administration major Kayla Defoe, the new director of Towson University’s Campus Activities Board, to ask her a few questions about who she is and what we can expect to see from CAB this year.

So what exactly does CAB do?
Well, CAB serves as the programming branch under the SGA, and we pretty much plan a wide, diverse array of events all over campus for students, allowing them to stay on campus instead of going out and drinking and getting into trouble. So this is why we’re planning Labor Stay, which is a really big event that Student Activities, SGA and a lot of other student groups, along with CAB, are planning. Instead of going home their first weekend at school, [students] can come hang out around campus and go to all these different events that are occurring. All of the events are occurring simultaneously. I know today there’s three events going on at the same time, so it allows students to be interactive rather than going home.

What does your role as CAB director entail?
As director, I’m pretty much the face of CAB. I plan the budget. I oversee board members. I have a lot of meetings with administration, which are fun. And I also serve as the director of campus activities under SGA, so I’m kind of a liaison between SGA and CAB. So, I tell CAB updates on SGA and SGA updates on CAB.

Why did you want to take on this leading role?
I started off as a programming chair and realized programming chair is actually a lot of work, but I actually wanted more responsibility. So, I applied for director, and I got it, which was really surprising.

Why is CAB important to you?
CAB’s important to me, because it allows me to be a part of something that’s bigger than me. CAB is a whole campus organization, and I just like seeing how excited people get coming to our events, seeing them walk away with a smile, knowing that they had a great time and knowing that CAB put on the event, knowing that we made these students happy.

Are there any events you’ve started working on besides Labor Stay?
We’re bringing the cast of Wild ‘N Out—it’s pretty much Nick Cannon’s show, it’s an improv comedy show where there’s two teams battling, doing different improv games—and we’re bringing Nick Cannon and the cast. They’re coming Sept. 19, SECU Arena, and doors open at 7 p.m. Show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets go on sale Sept. 9. More information coming soon.

How do you get big names like Nick Cannon?
Sometimes different vendors contact us, but we have a middle agent who contacts the big names’ agents directly, and then he comes back to us letting us know availability, who wants to come here, stuff like that. We’re not contacting them directly. We use our middle agent.

How do you want your events to benefit students?
We use our events as a way for students to meet other students. Give them good memories, a good college experience. And foster their Towson pride.

I have to ask—have you started planning TigerFest yet?
Nope.

How would a student go about joining CAB?
Our first general member meeting is Wednesday, Sept. 7. So, that’s open to anyone. As general members, they pretty much serve as volunteers. We can bounce ideas off of them, but then spring semester is when applications go out. People who have never been in CAB before can apply to be programming chair, marketing chair, or even assistant director. So that’s the best way they can get involved. The applications are usually on social media, the CAB website, and they’re open to everyone.

–Compiled by Kristin Helf