Pair brings energy, music, balance to OSU campus through events

Sarah Sutton and Calvin Nguyen are nothing alike.

As co-coordinators for MU music and concert events, they have to spend a lot of time together—but this pair does not let their differences get between them.

“We are a very interesting duo because we work and do things so differently,” said Sutton, a junior studying public health.

“We balance each other out so perfectly. We bicker a lot. We challenge each other. What results from it is a much richer conclusion,” said Nguyen, a junior in exercise sports science.

According to Sutton, their different outlooks actually improve their effectiveness as a team.

“Calvin is big-idea oriented and I am very detail oriented, so we like to say that Calvin’s head is in the clouds and my feet are on the ground,” Sutton laughed. “We meet in the middle and make mountains.”

Despite their differences of opinion, the pair has never ultimately made a decision that they weren’t both on board with.

“We talk together through our ideas and together we collaborate,” Nguyen said.

As music and concert event co-coordinators, Nguyen and Sutton are responsible for organizing campus events like Javacoustics, DAM JAM and Battle of the Bands.

With 14 Javacoustic performances each year and two very large production events to plan, the two have a pretty packed schedule.

“I was heavily involved with OSU’s theatre department last year, but it has been hard to balance it with the responsibilities of this job,” Sutton said.

According to Sutton’s dad, John Sutton, Sarah Sutton has been acting since high school.

“She really was quite good,” he said.

Despite being involved in theatre, John Sutton remembers that when Sarah Sutton joined MUPC in her sophomore year, it was because she felt like she didn’t have enough to do.

“After joining at the beginning of winter term she sent a text to my wife saying she had a full week of classes, one pilates class, two zumba classes, 20 hours of play rehearsal and 17 hours working with MUPC. At that point I thought, when is she studying?” John Sutton laughed.

Now Sarah Sutton has found a way to add intramural volleyball, soccer and ultimate frisbee into her packed schedule.

“It’s not even that I like sports,” Sarah Sutton said. “I just like being involved.”

For Nguyen, managing such a full schedule presents a new challenge.

“I don’t know how busy he is, but I have an idea,” said PhuongHa New, Nguyen’s mom. “But hes on top of things and that’s so amazing. (Being organized) was something he never had when he was young. He’s coming into his own organizational skills and its great.”

Despite the time demands of the job, both insist that they are doing what they love.

“(Nguyen) is actually so overwhelmed that he gets to do what hes doing and that he gets to get paid for it,” New said. “That’s what he did in high school and he thought that was it—that was his hay day. He couldn’t believe that he got to do it again in college.”

Nguyen attributes his excitement about the job to his passion for music. He started playing piano when he was five, has been playing guitar for eight years and singing since high school.

“Music has always been a big driving force throughout my whole life, so it makes sense that I’m in the position that I’m in now,” Nguyen said.

Sarah Sutton enjoys the job for slightly different reasons.

“I love event planning,” she said, adding that her goal for a future career involves being able to plan community events that focus on health promotion.

When asked about the goal of their work, the pair said it was all about the students.

“The overall purpose is enhancing the student experience,” Sarah Sutton said. “We want to give them the experience that when you bring your kids back to campus, you walk in the quad and you tell them about DAM JAM, you walk into Java and you tell them about Javacoustics.”

“You come here for a degree, but that’s not necessarily the most important part,” Nguyen said. “It’s all about the experience”.

Helping student’s achieve that experience is just one of the many ways that both Sarah Sutton and Nguyen demonstrate their desire to help people. This drive is nothing new for either of them.

“(Nguyen) has always been helpful with his friends and stuff, where it sort of become a fault sometimes,” New said. “His teachers would say ‘you know, you need to let them do it themselves sometimes,’ but he was always waning to help.”

John Sutton remembers experiencing similar moments with Sarah Sutton.

“When Sarah was five, the first time she played soccer was indoor soccer and one of her teammates fell down. Sarah was on the other side of the court and ran all the way across to help the little girl up,” John Sutton said. “ Its something that stuck with me as a very overt act—to run all the way across the field to help another little child. I always thought that was sweet.”

Neither Sarah Sutton nor Nguyen are planning to stop helping others any time soon. Nguyen hopes to become a physicians assistant and work in the ER after graduation, where he can continue to help those in need.

Similarly, Sarah Sutton hopes to use her event planning skills to focus on health promotion, something she describes as “opening the door for (people) to improve themselves.”

“At the end of the day, I like to think that everyone would like to make the world a better place,” she said.

Until then, Nguyena and Sarah Sutton will continue to help students here on campus to get the most out of their college experience.

“We’re just making sure that students have those unforgettable moments,” Nguyen said.

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