Over Spring Break, most people have a week long Siesta. Others spend their time in downtown Austin enjoying the South by Southwest film and music festival, listening to the sweet sounds of crowds and tunes.

Senior Lauren Weber, however, decided to spend her Spring Break volunteering for SXSW.

“I found the opportunity by NHS,” Weber said. “[I knew] that South by Southwest would be a cool opportunity, and I’m probably going to be go of state for college, so it would be my only opportunity to go to an Austin music festival.”

Although it began as a way to get service hours for the National Honor Society, Weber has found much more from this experience.

“I thought everyday was a new adventure,” Weber said, “finding out what would be there at South by just because it’s so interesting and there are so many different things going on; it’s really hard to decipher what’s the best thing.”

Weber participated in the conference crew where she was able to take part in three teams: Hospitality, South by South-Express pass, and Gaming Expo.

“On the first day, it was a new experience,” Weber said. “I got to meet so many different people from so many different backgrounds because people travel from everywhere in order to go to SX. I would walk around and get more familiarized with the city that I never really go into.”

By volunteering, Weber was able to get a sneak preview of the new movie Get Hard and meet some celebrities.

“Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell were there,” Weber said. “I got to meet Steven Moffat which is a personal hero of mine because he wrote Doctor Who and Sherlock.”

Weber recommends the experience to anyone who has the time.

“The good thing about it is that a lot of people want to go to South by, but can’t afford it,” Weber said. “With this you can volunteer a certain amount of hours and get a free pass to do whatever you want basically, depending on what you want to do. You also get to experience the inside job of working for South by, so you know what’s popular and what’s going on.