Ben Woo’s life used to be Dance Marathon. In the last year, he spent about 1,300 hours preparing for the 30-hour dance party – from selecting a beneficiary last spring to making last-minute preparations.

This quarter, things have changed.

Walk out to the Lakefill on a nice day, and there’s a chance Woo will be there, sitting on the grass and feeding leftover bread to ducks.

“Really, it’s good to feel needed by birds,” said the Weinberg senior and DM’s outgoing executive co-chair.

Once the weekend of dancing ended in March, Woo returned his 24-hour access key to Norris University Center and moved on.

With all this newfound free time, Woo and other seniors who have recently relinquished leadership positions in major campus organizations are finding it difficult to fill the extra hours.

“We are so used to having what we do during the day mean a lot to so many different people,” Woo said. “I have no regrets, so it’s nice to kick back now.”

In addition to feeding ducks, Woo has made time for other activities he couldn’t do before – cooking, running errands and playing golf, to name a few. He hasn’t lost touch with his studies, either – Woo is putting the finishing touches on his senior thesis.

Communication senior Peter Kahn, one of Woo’s roommates, chaired A&O Productions.

He helped bring Kanye West to Northwestern in November for a private concert, which more than 3,500 students attended.

Kahn now works at Third Wave Productions, an audio production company. That’s not all he does, though; he said he and his roommates made time to watch last weekend’s NFL Draft.

Music senior and former Associated Student Government President Patrick Keenan-Devlin’s Spring Quarter has taken a turn different from that of most seniors.

Since finishing his term and swearing in his successor, Communication junior Jay Schumacher, Keenan-Devlin “said hello to the Music Administration Building.”

Now, Keenan-Devlin spends his time practicing opera in preparation for his final senior performance on June 4.

He is also taking a full load of four classes, unlike many seniors who become part-time students during their last quarter.

Although Keenan-Devlin already gave his ASG farewell address, he said he remains involved. He helps run the ASG server and ensures the HereAndNow portion of the Northwestern Web site is up to date.

“This is hard,” he said. “The quick end and abrupt transition was difficult for me. It still is, to a great extent.”

These outgoing leaders still pay visits to the third floor of Norris, where the offices of their respective organizations are located. They have delegated their former responsibilities to new chairs but are still on call to answer questions and give advice.

For Woo and his former co-chair, Weinberg senior Cecilia Byrne, DM is not completely out of the picture. They serve on the grants committee for the Evanston Community Foundation, DM’s secondary beneficiary.

Byrne said she spends her days studying for the LSATs and going out every night, similar to the other members of the Facebook group “I’m on the seven-day plan.”

But Byrne also tries to make time for the little things, such as feeding ducks with Woo.

“It’s our retirement activity,” she said.

Reach Alysa Teichman at @northwestern.edu.