New Fun Czar Selected by Office of Student Life

Andres Castro Samayoa ’10 will help facilitate some of the College’s largest events next year—including Yardfest and the Harvard-Yale pep rally—as the Fellow for Student Life, the Office of Student Life announced yesterday.

Chosen to fill the position colloquially known as “fun czar,” Castro Samayoa will be charged with supporting logistics and student groups focused on organizing social events such as the College Events Board, the First-Year Social Committee, and House Committees.

“Andres brings a wonderful combination of advising skills and event management experience,” Assistant Dean of Harvard College for Student Life David R. Friedrich wrote in a press release. “His passion for the field of student affairs and desire to support leadership development among student leaders along with a commitment to creating inclusive events make him a terrific addition to the Office of Student Life.”

Castro Samayoa will arrive in his new role with experience advising his fellow students and promoting diversity initiatives. Over the course of his undergraduate career, Castro Samayoa has served as a senior student intern at the Harvard College Women’s Center, a peer advising fellow, and a co-president of the Harvard-Radcliffe Women’s Leadership Project.

The current fun czarina Sarah J. Sidwell ’09 was a former hospitality chair on the Harvard Concert Commission, a room reservations coordinator at the College Dean’s Office, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Student Organization Center at Hilles.

In his new position, which he is set to begin on July 1, Castro Samayoa said he hopes to balance two main priorities as fun czar.

“I think one of my main concerns and something that I always think about is how do you create a campus that’s welcoming for everyone,” he said. “One of the things that’s so important for Harvard in terms of diversity is how do you put on programming that’s going to be exciting for everyone. Another thing is how do you, as an administrator, develop leadership that will be useful across the College.”

Castro Samayoa said that this role will allow him to pursue his interest in higher education.

“It’s going to be a really nice way for me to acquaint with the general questions that are happening with the field of higher education and administration, like how do you build community across the campus and how do you make sure everyone across the campus feels welcomed,” he said.

The position of fun czar was created in 2004 when Zachary A. Corker ’04 was named special assistant to the dean for social programming, receiving coverage from outlets ranging from Reuters to “The O’Reilly Factor.” The role currently has the title of Campus Life Fellow.

—Staff writer Naveen N. Srivatsa can be reached at srivatsa@fas.harvard.edu.