{"id":227759,"date":"2026-04-30T11:55:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T15:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/?p=227759"},"modified":"2026-04-30T13:52:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T17:52:25","slug":"the-brains-behind-worlds-fair-day-at-montclair-state-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2026\/04\/30\/the-brains-behind-worlds-fair-day-at-montclair-state-university\/","title":{"rendered":"The Brains Behind World\u2019s Fair Day at 精品成人福利在线 University"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/category\/montclair-life\/\">Montclair Life<\/a> <strong>by University Photographer Mike Peters<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On World\u2019s Fair Day, 精品成人福利在线 University\u2019s campus becomes a maze of tables, food and performances. From the first cup of coffee to the last folded tablecloth, Associate Director of Campus Activities Casey Coleman \u201914 is everywhere at once, quietly directing behind the scenes. \u201cI\u2019m just organizing the chaos, and it&#8217;s a chaos in a good way,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This year, that chaos is part of an even bigger assignment: Casey is helping lead 250 events in honor of the U.S. Semiquincentennial, including a three\u2011in\u2011one celebration on April 23.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the video below, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kjpQ-EdW2l4\">photo montage<\/a> follows Casey through World\u2019s Fair Day \u2013 from his early\u2011morning coffee on Alumni Green to the final breakdown after a trifecta of end\u2011of\u2011semester traditions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Video: World&rsquo;s Fair Day at 精品成人福利在线 University Behind the Scenes with Casey Coleman\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kjpQ-EdW2l4?feature=oembed\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen style=\"width: 500px; height: 281px; border: 0px solid #000;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On that day, Montclair celebrated the flavors, sounds and languages of World\u2019s Fair Day, rallied support for scholarships and programs with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2026\/04\/23\/montclair-state-university-launches-global-education-fund-on-one-day-for-montclair\/\">One Day for Montclair<\/a>, and welcomed the children of faculty and staff for Take Your Child to Work Day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As he thinks back to those quiet hours before the crowds arrived, Casey remembers the feeling that set the tone for the day: \u201cI was anxious but in a positive way. I always feel with event planning you get to a certain point, it&#8217;s just letting go of balloons. You can&#8217;t get it back, you can&#8217;t, it&#8217;s going to happen. You do the work in advance and then hope that it all works out the way it&#8217;s supposed to.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_227748\" class=\"responsive-image-holder wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"mlt-responsive-image\" data-original-image=\"\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/042326_044416_Casey-Coleman-Worlds-Fair-Day_MP.jpg\" src=\"\/responsive-media\/cache\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/042326_044416_Casey-Coleman-Worlds-Fair-Day_MP.jpg.0.1x.generic.jpg\" alt=\"On a sunny morning under leafy green trees, Casey Coleman stands holding a clipboard and points across campus while two Facilities staff members sit on the edge of a table listening.\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Casey Coleman confers with University Facilities staff as they finalize the World\u2019s Fair Day layout. \u201cI\u2019m trying to figure out the blueprint because we had the highest demand ever for participation this year. The Facilities request was technically for 71 tables for about 60 participants. It&#8217;s a pretty decent split, about one\u2011third academics, one\u2011third student organizations and then about one\u2011third departments across campus.\u201d (Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Keeping events on track<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In his work for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/center-for-student-involvement\/about-us\/\">Office of Student Engagement<\/a>, Casey leads the Campus Activities team, supports commuter students, civic engagement and more, and over the past 10 years has helped run large and small campus events, from Welcome Week activities for freshmen to seating graduates at Commencement and everything in between<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWhenever people ask about World&#8217;s Fair Day, they&#8217;re like, it must be stressful, and I&#8217;m like, honestly, to me it&#8217;s one of the easiest events we do,\u201d Casey says. \u201cIf I was cooking the food, I&#8217;d feel stressed, but I&#8217;m not laying the tables out, I&#8217;m not cooking the food. I&#8217;m getting the ducks in a row.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_227750\" class=\"responsive-image-holder wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"mlt-responsive-image\" data-original-image=\"\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/042326_045699_Casey-Coleman-Worlds-Fair-Day_MP.jpg\" src=\"\/responsive-media\/cache\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/042326_045699_Casey-Coleman-Worlds-Fair-Day_MP.jpg.0.1x.generic.jpg\" alt=\"Casey Coleman and a student, Hannah Minor, stand side by side on the lawn, both holding clipboards as they look ahead thoughtfully, conferring about a checklist.\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Casey Coleman runs through the checklist with Hannah Minor, a senior Communication and Media Studies major interested in pursuing a career in higher education who shadowed him throughout the day. (Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Planning for a Semiquincentennial year<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Montclair announced a plan to host 250 democracy\u2011related events in honor of America\u2019s Semiquincentennial, Casey was all in. Those events have included novelties like a Pickle Palooza challenge (\u201cPickles tend to be polarizing. They are often loved or hated, rarely is someone in the middle \u2013 a good metaphor for the times\u201d) and a host of other programs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWhat I really enjoy about this work is the freedom and trust to be able to bring people together,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_227749\" class=\"responsive-image-holder wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"mlt-responsive-image\" data-original-image=\"\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/042326_044852_Casey-Coleman-Worlds-Fair-Day_MP.jpg\" src=\"\/responsive-media\/cache\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/042326_044852_Casey-Coleman-Worlds-Fair-Day_MP.jpg.0.1x.generic.jpg\" alt=\"Close\u2011up of a printed aerial map of campus covered with hand\u2011drawn circles, numbers and arrows, showing Casey\u2019s scribbled notes and table placements for the World\u2019s Fair Day event layout.\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Casey\u2019s \u201csuper high\u2011tech diagram\u201d for World\u2019s Fair Day. \u201cI try to keep the departments together. I try to keep the student organizations together, because on the logistics side it makes it easier to direct the different groups when they show up.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>From soundboard to campus stages<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>A Montclair alumnus who earned a BA in Broadcasting in 2014, Casey enjoys the community aspect of his job.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI fell into activities and other things before I ever got deep into my major. It is funny because whenever I encounter a tough problem at work, I think about one of my sound mixing classes. They always tell you, \u2018OK, where&#8217;s the problem, and then work backwards.\u2019 I picture myself sometimes at the soundboard: it&#8217;s stuck here, how do I break it free?\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Community on Alumni Green<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_227751\" class=\"responsive-image-holder wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"mlt-responsive-image\" data-original-image=\"\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/042326_046427_Casey-Coleman-Worlds-Fair-Day_MP.jpg\" src=\"\/responsive-media\/cache\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/042326_046427_Casey-Coleman-Worlds-Fair-Day_MP.jpg.0.1x.generic.jpg\" alt=\"Casey Coleman cradles a fluffy black\u2011, white\u2011 and brown\u2011colored mini Bernedoodle while Johnny Ross leans in to greet the dog.\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Casey\u2019s husband, Johnny Ross \u201919, and new puppy, Lenny, join the festivities. Technically short for Linguini, Lenny is a one\u2011year\u2011old rescued mini Bernadoodle. \u201cWe try to bring him to campus, number one, to tire him out, but it was Take Your Child to Work Day, and I felt I wanted to bring my kid to work too.\u201d (Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_227753\" class=\"responsive-image-holder wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"mlt-responsive-image\" data-original-image=\"\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/042326_048026_Casey-Coleman-Worlds-Fair-Day_MP.jpg\" src=\"\/responsive-media\/cache\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/042326_048026_Casey-Coleman-Worlds-Fair-Day_MP.jpg.0.1x.generic.jpg\" alt=\"Casey Coleman pauses to talk with a colleague and young child holding a balloon animal.\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Casey stops to greet a family on Take Your Child to Work Day. \u201cI\u2019m so invested in the Montclair community. It&#8217;s people I&#8217;ve worked with for a decade or more, and it&#8217;s watching their kids grow up or get accepted to schools.\u201d (Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_227752\" class=\"responsive-image-holder wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"mlt-responsive-image\" data-original-image=\"\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/042326_047526_Casey-Coleman-Worlds-Fair-Day_MP.jpg\" src=\"\/responsive-media\/cache\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/042326_047526_Casey-Coleman-Worlds-Fair-Day_MP.jpg.0.1x.generic.jpg\" alt=\"Large crowds of students, families and children fill campus, weaving between rows of red\u2011topped booths, game tables and food lines.\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Crowds pack Alumni Green as students, families and children rotate through food lines, games and performances. \u201cI estimate at least 3,000 people swing by. We do 900 servings of ice cream, which every year people complain about because they run out.\u201d Joking about his future plans, Casey adds, \u201cI think my retirement gig will be opening an ice cream truck because that&#8217;s where the money is.\u201d (Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_227754\" class=\"responsive-image-holder wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"mlt-responsive-image\" data-original-image=\"\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/042326_048259_Casey-Coleman-Worlds-Fair-Day_MP.jpg\" src=\"\/responsive-media\/cache\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/042326_048259_Casey-Coleman-Worlds-Fair-Day_MP.jpg.0.1x.generic.jpg\" alt=\"Casey Coleman stands in the background checking a phone while dancers in black pants and patterned tops move in a circle, their blurred legs framing the scene.\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">As a dance group performs, Casey sneaks a glance at the time to make sure the program stays on schedule. (Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Why World\u2019s Fair Day matters<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">World\u2019s Fair Day is what Montclair is all about, Casey says. \u201cIt is an open environment to learn, to try something different, to put yourself out there \u2013 to experience something you wouldn&#8217;t necessarily do. This to me is what it&#8217;s all about. It&#8217;s trying water from Poland because you can, and taking a bite of a Jamaican beef patty because you&#8217;ve never had it. It&#8217;s a celebration of what truly makes Montclair the place to be.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Coleman says that feeling is rooted in the students themselves. \u201cCollege was transformational for me, and so I feel very intrinsically motivated to give that back. You&#8217;re not going to remember your 8 a.m. Biology class at graduation. But you&#8217;re going to remember the movie night you went to, or the group project you had, or some of those other little experiences along the way. So, it does bring me great joy to just kind of be sprinkled throughout a college student&#8217;s experience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_227755\" class=\"responsive-image-holder wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"mlt-responsive-image\" data-original-image=\"\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/042326_048920_Casey-Coleman-Worlds-Fair-Day_MP.jpg\" src=\"\/responsive-media\/cache\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/042326_048920_Casey-Coleman-Worlds-Fair-Day_MP.jpg.0.1x.generic.jpg\" alt=\"As the event winds down, Casey Coleman pulls a wagon full of supplies across the chalk\u2011covered sidewalk.\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">At the end of the day, wheeling supplies off Alumni Green, Casey reflects on how much ground he\u2019s covered: \u201cI&#8217;m pretty sure I clocked 16,000 steps that day.\u201d (Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>A picture\u2011perfect ending<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cHonestly, this was probably one of the best World\u2019s Fair Days, mostly because of the weather. It was warm, but not too hot. The sun was out, it wasn&#8217;t too windy. \u201cThere was one year I remember when, in the span of 30 minutes, it snowed a little bit and then the sun came out \u2014 it was wild. This was the most picturesque. We could not have asked for a better day, and in comparison to what the rest of the weather was looking like that week, I felt somebody was looking out for us. My karma chips were all cashed that day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Below, see how World\u2019s Fair Day looked once everything was in full swing.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Video: 精品成人福利在线 University World&rsquo;s Fair Day 2026 | Food, Dance &amp;amp; Global Celebration\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/92HN-a_D1c4?feature=oembed\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen style=\"width: 500px; height: 281px; border: 0px solid #000;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/em><strong>Our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/category\/montclair-life\/\">Montclair Life series<\/a> highlights how students, faculty and staff embody the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/president\/mission-statement\/\">University\u2019s mission<\/a> on campus and beyond. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Photography by University Photographer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/profilepages\/view_profile.php?username=petersm\">Mike Peters<\/a>. Story by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/profilepages\/view_profile.php?username=martinezsy\">Sylvia A. Martinez<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/profilepages\/view_profile.php?username=lehrenma\">Marilyn Joyce Lehren<\/a>, University Communications and Marketing. World\u2019s Fair Day video by University Videographer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/profilepages\/view_profile.php?username=apostolouc\">Christodoulos Apostolou<\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Ready to start your Montclair journey?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Accepted students: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/admissions\/commit\/\">Make it official by submitting your new student deposit.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">At Montclair, you\u2019ll find your people, your place and your path in the Red Hawk community. Our campus is intentionally built around connection, care and inclusion so that every student \u2013 and every employee \u2013 knows they matter here. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whether you\u2019re joining us as a student or as a member of our professional staff, you\u2019ll be part of a community that values collaboration, creativity and belonging. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Discover <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/human-resources\/job-seekers\/\">job opportunities<\/a> and e<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">xplore how we<a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/student-development-campus-life\/\">\u00a0support our students<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/\/ Output tags as a list for Google Analytics custom dimension\nwindow.MSU_TagList = [];\n<\/script>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Associate Director of Campus Activities Casey Coleman is helping to bring more than 250 events to life at Montclair in honor of the U.S. Semiquincentennial, including a trifecta of celebrations to end the spring semester<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":434,"featured_media":227747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[313,123,575,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-227759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-homepage-news","category-montclair-life","category-university"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/434"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227759"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":227785,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227759\/revisions\/227785"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}