The Student Volunteer Committee is the committee that oversees the Student Volunteer Program at each SIGGRAPH Conference. Attendees can readily identify a student volunteer by the bright red vest that each volunteer wears which helps them stand out in the crush of humanity that is often the case at SIGGRAPH. The most visible aspects of a student volunteer's job is to check badges at the entrance of venues and to answer many of the mundane questions attendees have when they are lost within the conference center.

Student volunteers also have duties that are less visible at the conference but act as a lynchpin in the preparations leading up to the opening of the conference. In the days leading up to the opening of the conference, student volunteers assist contractors and contributors in accomplishing many of the tasks necessary to prepare the venues for the attendees. Working with contractors, they assist in preparing the merchandise bags that attendees receive, assemble Fjorg helmets, and assist artists with their exhibits and installations.

New this year in the Emerging Technologies venue is a program called the Emerging Technologies Apprenticeship. In years past, student volunteers assisted in assembling and testing the exhibits, but their involvement stopped there. The new Apprenticeship program was a highly selective process which chose 10 students to work with a contributor. Through this apprenticeship program, students learned in greater detail about the technology being presented and were mentored by the contributors. Additionally, the student volunteers assisted in demonstrating the exhibit during the conference.

To learn more about the Student Volunteer program and the selection process applicants go through, I spoke with Matylda Czarnecka. Czarnecka is a Specialty Product Manager at the Bakersfield Californian newspaper. At her newspaper she oversees many of the multimedia and mobile technologies being developed and adapted for the Bakersfield Californian.

She informed me that at this year's conference there were approximately 900 Student Volunteer applications, out of which 344 were accepted. An additional 20 students were selected as Team Leaders, blue-vested volunteers tasked with managing the army of Student Volunteers for the different conference venues. Czarnecka told me that the mission of the Student Volunteer program is two fold. The first is to facilitate the conference's programs and the second is to give students a valuable and memorable experience. Attending the conference can significantly impact a student's finances, so the volunteer program enables students to attend the conference in exchange for 18-30 hours of volunteer work done on site. Additionally, travel and housing expenses can be modestly offset by volunteering more than 25 hours.

At first glance, working at the conference may seem dull when compared to all that there is to offer at the conference, but Czarnecka was quick to point out that volunteering gives a student unprecedented access to contributors and attendees as well as a chance to network with other student volunteers.

Additionally, a number of student volunteer only events are schedule through out the week. The most valuable of these events are the Fireside Chats which have been informally held the past few years and have now been formally added to the Student Volunteer program. Czarnecka told me that Alex Lehman from this year's committee oversaw the program where individuals from industry come to speak to students. The format is informal with each person from industry presenting something about their field and finishing with a question and answer session. For students, having questions answered about how to find a job, what makes a good resume and demo reel, and better insight into working in the computer graphics and interactive techniques community, is priceless. Each of the Fireside Chats are held within the Student Volunteering office and are inevitably always standing room only events.

To become a student volunteer you must be a student or a recent graduate. The application process starts in Fall with calls for participation done via the SIGGRAPH mailing list as well as on the SIGGRAPH Conference website. Applicants are encouraged to apply early and to show enthusiasm and passion. The application is done entirely online, but it is very competitive. Notifications are sent in Spring and soon afterwards online forums are available for student volunteers to make introductions and find new friends to splits travel and housing costs. Being a Student Volunteer is also a gateway to other roles within the SIGGRAPH community which involve increased responsibility and impact.

Czarnecka pointed out that with the increasing cadre of Student Volunteer alumni, many alumni wanted a way to continue to connect with the friends that they had made while volunteering, as well as help new students just joining the SIGGRAPH community. In response to this, an Ex-SV program has been run ad-hoc for the past few years. A new sub-committee will now be established to develop a program geared towards the Ex-SV community. This year, Czarnecka stated, an Ex-SV reception will be held that is only for student volunteer alumni.

For students, the student volunteer program gives deserving students the chance to attend the conference and network with students, contributors, and attendees while offsetting the financial burden a conference like SIGGRAPH can cause. At the same time, the enthusiasm and passion that the student volunteers and the Student Volunteer Committee brings to the conference ensures that everyone at the conference will have a fruitful and enjoyable conference experience.