Since 2018, Administrative Events Coordinator Barbara Thomson has been the master juggler of all the moving parts that make up the approximately 600 successful events held each year on the campus of Bronx Community College (BCC). And when there is an event, you are more than likely to see Barbara there. 

“People come to me with ideas for their events, and I work with them as much as possible to make it happen within the scope of what we’re able to do on campus,” Thomson said. 

“We have limited spaces, with certain ones being most popular. My job is putting the pieces of the puzzle together, figuring out what space works best on which date and then ensuring everyone has what they need in the setup, including AV.” 

Coming to the Bronx initially from England, Thomson worked in fundraising for theater arts related non-profits, including an off-Broadway theater company, the American Ballet Theatre and an opera company. She determined she wanted to shift her career to education and manage events for a college, and then, as she says, “went for it,” landing her unique role at BCC. 

Thomson, a one-person shop, handles logistics for events both Internally – with different departments on campus, including Student Life, Athletics, Admissions, ASAP, Career Development, College Discovery, Upward Bound and most of the academic offices – as well as with external groups that want to hold events at BCC, to problem solve and help bring to life the visions behind the events. This past June, Thomson led the behind-the-scenes work to pull off ten high school and middle school graduations, a concert in GML and a TV shoot. 

During her tenure, Thomson said she has found TV shoots to be especially interesting. She recently came in the middle of the night to accompany Robert De Niro and his team on a shoot at the Hall of Fame for an upcoming Netflix series titled Zero Day.  For this, she said, the campus was empty except for Public Safety, an electrician, a locksmith and two custodians. She also really enjoyed a shoot for Vogue Mexico and the campaign shoot she coordinated with GAP featuring beloved hip-hop dancer Stephen “tWitch’ Boss, prior to his tragic death. 

BCC is in the process of trying to secure additional funding for renovations to Gould Memorial Library (including attending to the national landmark building’s infrastructure needs and bringing it up to modern codes), which remains a cultural icon for the College. Once this happens, the College will be equipped to exponentially expand the number of events held in that space. 

According to Thomson, BCC currently brings in about a quarter of a million dollars annually as a result of external rentals. She said expanding space options and addressing staffing issues to grow revenue as a result of facility rentals is among the College’s priorities.