By Mia Gutierrez, February 24, 2026
Students dressed up in long, colorful and sparkly dresses and suits at the ASI Gala Feb. 12 to “celebrate the timeless art of the love letter” as a tie to Valentine’s Day, according to ASI.
ASI social media and marketing assistant Adriana Ward described the night of music, photos and vendors at the Bronco Student Center from 7 to 10 p.m. as something truly special.
“The theme was love letter, all the decorations and activities such as writing love letters, was meaningful and a nice gesture to remind us of the importance of connection and care,” Ward said.
The goal of the event was to keep students entertained and allow them to be present in the moment by incorporating non-electronic activities that can still capture the night without having a screen out.
Following the theme, the gala incorporated student vendors such as animal science student Sadie Ngo who is a live photobooth artist, graphic design student portrait artist Vienesse Datu and architecture student Jay Rubin, so students could take home a memory with them.
Ngo hand draw people on the spot to recreate images of a photo booth but made the images more personal and unique. Datu and Rubin created portraits of students in under five minutes by taking a picture of students on their phone as a reference and having students pick up the image when they were finished, so they didn’t have to hold still.
“My favorite part about attending the gala was being able to spend time with my friends outside of class and being able to take cute photo booth pictures and get the live drawings,” said early childhood studies student Katelyn Wright.
Dinner included a variety of options such as alfredo pasta, mashed potatoes, chicken, tri-tip, salad, breadsticks and cookies. Water or lemon iced tea were also offered.
ASI also hired Bronco Fusion opener DJ Anakin to get the crowd dancing. After students took some time to eat and settle into the event, students moved to the dance floor with friends and partners to end the night.
Events like the ASI Gala take a lot of planning and preparation from the ASI team.
“A breakdown of our ASI Gala on our end was to make students feel welcome and encourage love in all forms,” said social media supervisor for ASI Mia Alvarado. “Our team plans ahead in advance, and we meet with the coordinators to make sure we are on the right track with their vision and goals for the event.”
