Tết – Vietnamese Lunar New Year

My Role

Throughout this project, I worked across two distinct areas: operational co-lead and digital content creator.

On the operations side, that meant co-ordinating end-to-end event planning, securing sponsorship through the Students’ Union, managing a tight student society budget, sourcing Vietnamese food and cultural materials and hosting the event as MC on the night.

On the content side, I completed the society’s entire digital engagement strategy: producing promotional reels, Instagram stories and campaigns before the event, live coverage during it and a full recap after.

The Challenge

Running a traditional cultural event on a student budget is hard enough, but the circumstances made it harder.

First, we had no dedicated funding going in. Second, it was exam season, meaning committee members were stretched thin and student attention was already elsewhere. And because Tết fell on a Saturday, booking a university venue through the usual channels wasn’t straightforward as weekend availability added a layer of logistical friction we had to work around from the start.

What I Did

Rather than treating social media as a bulletin board, I used short-form video content and interactive stories to build genuine anticipation. The goal was to communicate the feeling of the event before it happened — drawing in both Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese students.

In a student-led environment, decisions can slow down quickly. I worked closely with the Students’ Union to lock in sponsorship, coordinated across committee members and external contributors, and kept logistics on track despite last-minute changes, particularly around food preparation.