Opening Scene

HUM A Cappella was founded as more than a performance group. For over twenty-five years, it has served as a creative home for South Asian American students at the University of Texas at Austin—a place where culture, music, identity, and community intersect. Through performances, competitions, and shared experiences, generations of members found a space to celebrate their heritage while building lifelong friendships.

Yet as members graduated and moved across the country, those connections naturally became harder to maintain. The organization remained active, but the larger community that had been built over decades became increasingly disconnected.

As Captain during HUM’s twenty-fifth anniversary year, I saw an opportunity to reconnect those generations and strengthen the community that had shaped so many students before us.

The Plot

What began as an anniversary celebration quickly evolved into a larger mission. I wanted to create opportunities for alumni to reconnect not only with the current team, but also with one another, while preserving the sense of belonging that had made HUM meaningful in the first place.

The goal was not simply to host a reunion. It was to strengthen a multigenerational community of South Asian American artists, performers, and leaders whose shared connection began through music but extended far beyond it.

The challenge was that there was no established roadmap. The alumni network had become fragmented, contact information was incomplete, and there was no central space where former members could reconnect with one another. To create the experience I envisioned, we first needed to rebuild the relationships, communication channels, and infrastructure that would allow the community to thrive long after the event itself ended.

Behind the Camera

The project began with three conversations.

During the summer, I reached out to a handful of alumni to understand whether reconnecting with HUM was something people genuinely wanted. Those conversations quickly evolved into introductions, referrals, surveys, planning discussions, and community outreach efforts that spread organically throughout the network. One conversation led to another, and gradually a much larger community began to reappear.

As interest grew, the project expanded beyond a reunion. Alongside the executive board, I worked to rebuild alumni communications, gather community feedback, and create systems that would make future engagement possible. We relaunched the organization’s website, introduced alumni-focused initiatives, and began building spaces where former members could reconnect with one another rather than simply reconnect with the team.

At the same time, I led the planning and execution of HUM’s twenty-fifth anniversary celebration. From sponsorship outreach and budgeting to attendee communications, venue logistics, event branding, signage, presentations, souvenirs, programming, food coordination, and day-of operations, every detail was designed to create an experience that felt meaningful and personal.

The event itself reflected what HUM had always represented. Alumni were given opportunities to reconnect with former teammates, share stories from different eras of the organization, participate in interactive activities, and even return to performing music together—sometimes for the first time in years. More than a reunion, it became a celebration of the culture, creativity, and relationships that HUM had fostered across generations.

Box Office Results

• Reconnected 50+ alumni representing multiple generations of HUM A Cappella
• Coordinated attendees traveling from Texas, California, Washington, Illinois, New York, and other regions across the United States
• Secured approximately 85% of event expenses through sponsorship funding
• Raised roughly 20% of the organization’s studio album fundraising goal within minutes of launching the campaign during the event
• Relaunched the HUM website with alumni-focused engagement initiatives
• Established a sustainable foundation for future alumni outreach and community-building efforts
• Successfully delivered HUM A Cappella’s 25th Anniversary Alumni Reunion

More importantly, the project reinforced what HUM has always represented. While music brought people together initially, the lasting impact came from the community that formed around it. By reconnecting alumni across generations and creating new opportunities for engagement, the project helped preserve a space where South Asian American students and alumni could continue celebrating their culture, creativity, and shared experiences long after their time at the university.