HSA 65th Anniversary Book

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01
FEBRUARY 1, 2000 –
JANUARY 31, 2001
The dawn of e-commerce
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02
FEBRUARY 1, 2001 –
JANUARY 31, 2002
A Harvard Square institution,
The Harvard Shop, joins HSA
PRESIDENT
Andrew
Murphy
OFFICES
67 Mt. Auburn St.
17 Holyoke St.
HARVARD
STUDENT
AGENCIES
Entering FY01, prospective customers surfing
the internet still had to pick up a phone or visit in
person to do business with HSA. That all changed
when Vice President Brian Joseph spearheaded
the effort to allow customers to access HSA’s
products and services online. By midway through
the year, savvy parents were already logging on
and ordering laundry services for their helpless
progeny from their desktops. In a cruel twist of
irony, the Computer Services agency shut down
around the same time.
Michael Cronin successfully closed the $3.5
million capital campaign that he had started
five years earlier, and, together, the Board and
members of the corporation worked to rewrite the
corporate bylaws, providing a structure for HSA
that was more consistent with its modern needs.
Bob Rombauer, George Christodoulo, and
Publishing Director Kaya Stone ’00 signed a
new five-year publishing agreement with St.
Martin’s Press that also returned ownership of
multimedia rights to Let’s Go. Editor-in-Chief
Kate McCarthy ’00 led the redesign of Let’s Go’s
now-seven city guides, which featured a Let’s
Go novelty: photographs. The team continued to bend the internet to its
mighty will as guidebook content was posted on the web for the first time.
The 2001 series brought RWs from both coasts closer to home with the
first editions of Let’s Go: Boston and Let’s Go: San Francisco. As Let’s Go:
Europe broke 1,000 pages, Peru & Ecuador expanded to include Bolivia.
Let’s Go: Western Europe was added to its Eastern European counterpart,
rounding out the number of fully updated titles to 33. The Map Guides
added their last siblings, Dublin and Venice.
FY01 student Board members.
Bob Rombauer.
PRESIDENT
Cindy
Rodriguez
OFFICES
67 Mt. Auburn St.
17 Holyoke St.
52 JFK St.
HARVARD
STUDENT
AGENCIES
The Technology Management Program was attempted as a
new beta-testing agency, and the Center for Enterprise trained
aspiring entrepreneurs in the first Entrepreneur Bootcamp,
held in March. Toward the end of the summer, HSA’s web
presence went gangbusters with the online version of The
Unofficial Guide, a new recruiting website, and an online voting
forum for student Board elections.
When Board member Paul Corcoran ’54 announced his
The FY02 management team.
retirement in 2001, an uncertain fate awaited his labor of love,
a retail fixture of the old Harvard Sq.: The Harvard Shop. Upon hearing that the store was available for
sale, Vice President Brian Clay ’02, MBA ’06, immediately went after it, seeing it as a golden opportunity
for both HSA’s mission statement and bottom line. Clay worked with Michael Cronin on the valuation of
the business and George Christodoulo on the legal logistics of an acquisition. Ever the gentleman, Corcoran
recused himself from Board discussions and eventually resigned to avoid any potential conflict of interest.
Clay crafted a five-year business plan for The Harvard Shop, focusing on modernizing the storefront,
business practices, and launching an e-commerce presence. The deal finally closed at the end of the summer,
and The Harvard Shop officially became HSA’s newest agency, replacing The Campus Store. Students were
hired to staff the storefront, and inventory and sales records were moved to Excel instead of paper. The store
at 52 JFK St. mostly remained the same, but the groundwork was laid for future bounty.
The spring of 2001 brought the first Let’s Go roadtrip, driven by three alums who toured eastern colleges
for two months giving away free Let’s Go guides and information. Part of a cross-promotion with Student
Universe, the roadtrip spread the gospel of Let’s Go with the help of a rented RV named “Big Daddy.” Come
summer, nearly 200 RWs wandered the globe from Alaska to Zimbabwe, some of whom were accompanied
by a student film crew that produced a Let’s Go TV pilot. New guides included Let’s Go: Amsterdam, Let’s
Go: Barcelona, and Let’s Go: Egypt, while Let’s Go: Southwest USA became the first in a new outdoor adventure
series. The nine city guides, “pocket-sized and feature-packed,” became available on Palm
PDAs for the high-tech budget traveler. The summer ended on a strong
note with a deal with Student Universe to revamp the Let’s Go website.
The 2002 series was dedicated to the memory of RW Haley Surti ’01,
who died in a bus crash just as she was beginning her route in Peru. The
tragedy shook the Let’s Go staff to the core and inspired tightened safety
precautions such as the “no night transportation” rule.
LET’S GO TITLES
• Europe
• Britain & Ireland
• France
• Italy
• USA
• Greece
AGENCIES
• Turkey
• Israel
• Middle East
• California
• Alaska & the
Pacific Northwest
• Spain & Portugal
• Mexico
• New York City
• London
• Washington, D.C.
• Germany
• Austria
& Switzerland
• Paris
• Rome
• Ireland
• Southeast Asia
• Eastern Europe
• Central America
• India & Nepal
• Peru, Bolivia
& Ecuador
• Australia
• New Zealand
• South Africa
• China
• Boston
• San Francisco
• Western Europe
OTHER TITLES
• The Unofficial
Guide to Life
at Harvard
LET’S GO TITLES
• Europe
• Britain & Ireland
• France
• Italy
• USA
• Greece
AGENCIES
• Turkey
• Israel
• Middle East
• California
• Alaska & the
Pacific Northwest
• Spain & Portugal
• Mexico
• New York City
• London
• Washington, D.C.
• Germany
• Austria
& Switzerland
• Paris
• Rome
• Ireland
• Southeast Asia
• Eastern Europe
• Central America
• India & Nepal
• Peru, Ecuador
& Bolivia
• Australia
• New Zealand
• South Africa
• China
• Boston
• San Francisco
• Western Europe
• Amsterdam
• Barcelona
• Egypt
• Southwest USA
Adventure Guide
OTHER TITLES
• The Unofficial
Guide to Life
at Harvard
• HSA Cleaners
• Let’s Go Publications
• The Campus Store
• Harvard Student Resources
• Harvard Distribution
Services
• Let’s Go Ad Sales
• Harvard Graphic Design
• Computer Services
• Unofficial Publications
• Center for Enterprise
• HSA Rentals
• HSA Cleaners
• Let’s Go Publications
• Harvard Student Resources
• Harvard Distribution
Services
• Let’s Go Ad Sales
• Harvard Graphic Design
• Unofficial Publications
• Center for Enterprise
• HSA Rentals
• The Harvard Shop
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HSA 65th Anniversary History Book 75