As a member of the Penn State community you might have heard the word “SPA” thrown around in connection to events on campus. For those of you who don’t know, this is not a relaxing place where you can go to get a massage; it’s short for the Student Programming Association.

I sat down with SPA’s Director of Operations Rachael McKelvey to discuss student involvement in the organization and the process of planning events.

Students looking to get more involved in SPA are welcome to attend any of the general membership and/or committee meetings, all of which are open to the public. There are no dues to be a member, unlike many other clubs here at Penn State.

SPA events are funded through the Student Activity Fee, which allows them to bring in artists while charging students little to no price for tickets. Events in the past include Pitbull, Pete Francis, Motion City Soundtrack, and Jack’s Mannequin, as well as comedians such as Patton Oswalt and Gabriel Iglesias.

McKelvey says all of the events SPA puts on are built from the ground up by the volunteers in the organization, and formulated based on suggestions they get from the students of who they want to see. However, bigger acts such as Lady Gaga and Dave Matthews Band are nearly impossible for SPA to bring in, so they focus on smaller acts that are still well known.

There are a number of committees to get involved in within SPA: Entertainment, Logistics, LateNight, Marketing, Membership, and Noontime.

Another committee within SPA is in charge of the Distinguished Speaker Series, which is always free to students. This series has brought notable guests to campus such as Ben Stein, Maya Angelou, and Elie Wiesel.

SPA held their first general membership meeting of the year last Thursday and about 250 students attended, according to McKelvey. The next general membership meeting is tonight at 7 p.m. in 302 HUB.

For more information on future committee meetings and SPA events, follow them on Twitter @psu_spa or find them on Facebook. You can also email any of the SPA leaders or stop by their office in 223 HUB.

Make sure you stay up to date on all things SPA and feel free to suggest artists you’d like to see!