7/5/2023
Discovering The Smith Center
When Julia Masi moved from New York City to Las Vegas a year ago, she worried she wouldn’t feel at home.
“I thought it was going to be really hard. I came knowing only one person,” says Masi, a lifelong arts enthusiast. “I thought I was going to miss Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.”
Then she caught a concert at The Smith Center, and she knew she’d found where she belonged.
And when she learned The Smith Center offers affordable tickets as part of its mission as a nonprofit organization – supported by the center’s many volunteers – she immediately wanted to help.
“I thought, ‘if (volunteering) helps keep ticket costs down, I really want to do that,’” she says. “Everyone should be able to afford to go out and afford live music.”
Since then, Masi has joined the numerous volunteers at The Smith Center, where she ushers and assists with a variety of programs.
As a nonprofit, The Smith Center relies on volunteers to help in numerous roles, such as leading tours, assisting with special events and ushering at performances and student matinees throughout the year.
Masi volunteers with The Smith Center at least once a week because it enriches her life, she says – especially by helping keep the arts alive in Las Vegas.
“It’s a great gift that I get from (audiences) to really feel the happiness that happens in the room, that comes from the performers on stage,” she says.
Benefits of Volunteering
Masi gains a great deal from volunteering at The Smith Center, she says.
First, it has introduced her to new friends in the city, as her fellow volunteers are “lovely people” who “help each other out,” she says, hailing that “the camaraderie is beautiful.”
Working from home, Masi also lauds how volunteering adds structure to her week and provides her with cheerful, in-person interactions.
Volunteering also offers a direct conduit to the arts in her life.
“It feels more like a night out at a social event than giving back,” says Masi, who recently earned a Rookie of the Year Award for her high volunteer hours.
Helping Introduce Kids to the Arts
Masi’s favorite moments as a volunteer stem from ushering at The Smith Center’s student matinees, where many kids experience live theater for the first time.
“I always make sure to say something to the kids like, ‘bye, I hope you come again!’ And one little boy, about 7, dressed up in a suit and bow tie, said ‘oh, you’ll see me again. One day, I’ll be on that stage!’” she remembers with a laugh. “I hope these kids become music lovers for the rest of their lives.”
Part of The Smith Center Legacy
Smith Center volunteers also help support the arts in Southern Nevada.
A Las Vegas transplant since 1997, David Rodriguez has already shaped the city as a marble mason with International Bricklayers and Allied Crafts. He helped construct Bellagio Las Vegas, Wynn Las Vegas, The Venetian Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay and more.
And now, as a volunteer usher with The Smith Center since its opening night, Rodriguez also takes part in the center’s legacy of advancing arts and culture in Las Vegas – a fact that gives him great pride.
“Every time I drive by The Smith Center, I think ‘I’m a part of that,’” he says.
Rodriguez first felt compelled to volunteer when The Smith Center’s construction reminded him of loving performances as a kid in his native Chicago.
“I thought, ‘I want to be a part of that, this time,’” he says.
Above all, he simply loves “being around people and helping people out,” he says, which he applies both in helping Smith Center guests and also in training new ushers.
“I always try to break the ice and be friendly (with new volunteers),” says Rodriguez, who volunteers at least once a week throughout the year, and up to 10 times a month in the summer.
The Smith Center honored Rodriguez’s tremendous dedication with the Larry LeBlanc Award for Service Excellence this year.
“I wasn’t shooting for an award,” he says with a chuckle. “Just being a part of The Smith Center is great for me.”
Volunteer at The Smith Center
To learn about becoming a volunteer with The Smith Center, CLICK HERE.