Madeleine Coles

Life Editor

Valet parking. A coat check. Women in evening gowns and men in three piece suits drinking champagne. Waiters carrying trays of French cuisine. It is a scene far more often associated with big city socialites than the community members of Pocatello. However, this is the scene guests were greeted with when they arrived at the Stephens Performing Arts Center for the College of Arts and Letters fourth annual New Year’s Eve Gala.

The gala, which was held Dec. 31, from 7:30 p.m. to midnight, truly immersed the partygoers in a feel of high-class elegance. But more important to the College of Arts and Letters staff who planned the gala was the immersion of guests into the work of students.

The gala is an impressive collaboration between every aspect of the College of Arts and Letters. Theater students entertained the guests as mimes, put on puppet shows and performed live scenes.

In the black box theater, dance students danced to live music performed by ISU senior Jedd Greenhalgh while an art student completed a digital drawing on a projection screen behind the performers.

In addition, art students were positioned about the theater drawing on sketchpads and student artwork lined the walls. Some students were available to discuss their works with guests.

And toward the end of the evening, the jazz band performed for guests during dinner, which in itself was a grand affair.

According to dance faculty member Sheena Phelps, the students gain as much from the experience as the guests.

“[This event] really exposes the students to the professional world. They learn how to rehearse, how to interact with an audience, how to participate in events like this,” Phelps said.

ISU student Gage Horne agreed. Horne, a dance major who has participated in the gala the last two years, said the gala has enabled students to “come together creatively to showcase the best of everyone.”

But students receive much more obvious benefits from the gala than simply performing at it: the event itself a fundraiser scholarships for students in the College of Arts and Letters.

In fact, many students who participate in the gala are previous recipients of the scholarships provided by money raised from the gala.

According to Kandi Turley-Ames, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters, many students perform at the gala to give back to the fundraiser that has given to them.

“We actually this year had students volunteering last minute, saying they were going to be in town and asking if they could help,” Turley-Ames said. “It’s over the holiday, so students are coming back early and taking time out of their lives to do this.”

In the past three years, the gala has provided 65 scholarships totaling around $84,000, although according to Turley-Ames, that number may be even higher.

And the dean doesn’t plan on slowing down the momentum of the gala any time soon. In fact, Turley-Ames said she hopes to expand the gala even further in the coming years.

This year, the College of Arts and Letters secured a grant to support funding to hire the music group Time for Three to perform at the gala.

“It was important to get the grant because we really want this to keep growing,” Turley-Ames said.

She added that this year’s gala was highly attended.

Guests included ISU faculty and staff, but Turley-Ames said the majority of guests were actually Pocatello community members, and, more specifically, employees of companies that donated to the gala such as local banks, health care centers and insurance companies.

According to Turley-Ames, the College of Arts and Letters is optimistic about the future of the gala and its impact on students and the community at large.