You spent time planning the program. You created the flyers, reserved the space, picked up supplies, and maybe even told your supervisor this would be the event to watch out for. Then the start time arrives, and instead of a packed room, only a handful of residents walk through the door. I’m talking five people or less.
If you’ve ever looked around at a program and immediately started counting attendees, you’re not alone. Many student staff members are taught to think about attendance as a measure of success. After all, it’s one of the easiest things to track. You count sign-ins, report participation numbers, and compare attendance from one event to the next. When attendance is high, it’s easy to feel like a program was successful. When attendance is low, it’s easy to wonder if all the effort was worth it.
Summer Looks Different
During the summer, those feelings can become even stronger. Summer communities often look very different from those during the academic year. Your residents may be taking classes, working internships, conducting research, traveling, caring for family members, or balancing multiple responsibilities at once. Even the most thoughtfully planned program may attract fewer participants simply because residents have different schedules and priorities.
Because of this, comparing summer attendance to academic-year attendance can sometimes create unrealistic expectations about what success should look like. That doesn’t mean your work isn’t making an impact.
Success Isn’t Always Measured by Numbers
One of the easiest traps to fall into is assuming that attendance and impact are the same thing. They aren’t always.
We’ve all seen programs where dozens of residents show up, grab a slice of pizza, and leave. This is where it can be helpful to think beyond attendance numbers and focus on what residents actually experienced. Did someone meet a new friend? Did a resident feel more connected to their community? Did someone learn about a campus resource they didn’t know existed? Did a resident leave feeling more supported than when they arrived?
Those outcomes may not show up on a sign-in sheet, but they matter.
As student staff members, it’s easy to put pressure on yourself to fill every seat in the room. Sometimes you become so focused on attendance that you overlook the impact you’re already having. A program with 10 engaged residents can create more meaningful connections than a program with 50 attendees who never interact with one another.
That’s why reflection and assessment are important. After a program, don’t just ask yourself how many people attended. Ask yourself what happened during the event. What conversations took place? What did residents gain from being there? The answers to those questions often tell a more complete story than attendance numbers ever could.
As you continue planning programs this summer, remember that success is not always measured by the size of the crowd. Sometimes the most meaningful moments happen in small groups, and quiet conversations.
If only a few residents show up to your next program, don’t be too quick to call it a failure. For the residents who attended, it might have been exactly what they needed.
