It was 3 p.m. on August 22, and Erin Roberts ‘02 was standing outside the gates of Ravinia’s open-air pavilion in Chicago. But she need to be inside. More than 50 Denisonians would soon arrive for a sold-out Denison Club of Chicago event at the Crosby, Stills & Nash show–which was set to start in just four hours–and as a representative of the club and an event planner, Roberts knew they’d be expecting reserved seats on the lawn, catered food, and a good view. Roberts and Derek DuBose, Denison’s associate director of alumni relations, watched from outside the guarded gates as other guests with special privileges came and went as they pleased, snatching up all the prime real estate on the lawn. Roberts figured she’d have to get a little creative.
After first pleading, unsuccessfully, with the gatekeepers to allow her inside to meet a “contact” for her event, she heard a passerby ask another Ravinia employee if she could head inside to use the bathroom. The woman passed on through.
Roberts suddenly had to use the bathroom herself.
Moments later, DuBose received a call. “I’m on the inside,” Roberts told him, as she secured a prime spot for Denison guests who would have both a good view of the stage and of a big screen television allowing them to see every pick of the guitar.
When the guests arrived a short time later, they grabbed a seat, some food, and rocked on with fellow Chicagoland alums–and they were never the wiser to Roberts’ quick thinking.