Ashley Scanlon

Responsibilities

During my internship, I assisted with planning, coordinating, and delivering recreational programs, community events, and activities. My responsibilities included helping with event setup and teardown, communicating with vendors, attending planning meetings, coordinating event logistics, and assisting participants during events. I also shadowed recreation supervisors to observe daily operations and supported staff with a variety of administrative and event-related tasks, ensuring programs and events ran smoothly.

Accomplishments

My greatest accomplishment during my internship was gaining hands-on experience planning and coordinating multiple events. I communicated with vendors, collaborated with team members, and helped ensure each event ran smoothly. Through these experiences, I strengthened my professional communication, organization, and teamwork skills while gaining a deeper understanding of everything that happens behind the scenes to make successful events possible.

Learning experience

One of the greatest lessons I learned from my internship experience is the importance of clear communication. During meetings with my supervisor, I learned that it is important to develop a clear vision for an event and communicate plans effectively. I also learned the importance of keeping vendors, coworkers, and other individuals involved and informed about the next steps throughout the planning process. With so many parts of planning, it can be easy for people to lose track of updates, so I realized how much of a difference clear, consistent, and visual communication makes in keeping an event organized and successful.

What advice would you give?

My advice to future students in my major is never to be afraid to ask questions. An internship is a learning experience, and asking questions is the best way to grow personally and professionally. Take advantage of your coworkers experience and be open to feedback. Every question you ask is another opportunity for you to prepare yourself for a successful future.