Brittany Conway

Responsibilities

Throughout the course of my internship, I have been tasked with many different responsibilities that have helped me improve many different skills. For example, one of my many responsibilities includes assisting in the planning of events for new employees as a part of their onboarding into the company. Onboarding is a crucial part of an employee's experience, and a lot of my responsibilities revolve around trying to make that transition as smooth and comfortable as possible. During my internship, I have not only helped to plan events, but also I have helped to develop an orientation for new employees by providing feedback to all of the presenters as well as managing the technological aspects of the orientation, such as the online portion. For many of the events, I am responsible for networking and encouraging conversation amongst attendees in order to make sure all attendees are feeling welcome and getting the most out of each event.

Accomplishments

While I can honestly say that I have had many amazing experiences that I am very proud of, there is one particular experience that I feel is my greatest accomplishment. During my internship, I had the opportunity to assist in the development of a new Employee Resource Group (ERG) entitled “Women of Waldinger” and I have helped to plan and execute multiple events kicking off the new ERG. Waldinger is a construction company, so it is not surprising that there are more men than women working for the company, so this group was created in order to give women an opportunity to meet other women working for our company and to meet new people that they maybe never would have if this group was never created.

Learning experience

As a hospitality management major, I have had multiple experiences within the direct hospitality industry, such as food service and amusement park management, so I wanted to try something different this summer. When I first started in a corporate position, I was very nervous as to how it would differ from my previous experiences. While many of my responsibilities aligned with my previous experiences in the hospitality industry, there were also quite a few differences. One of the greatest lessons I have learned so far is that there is always going to be something that can be improved. The main function of the hospitality industry is trying to make someone’s day even better, so having the experience of providing a positive and welcoming environment for new employees throughout this internship has taught me a lot about what it means to truly improve someone’s day.

What advice would you give?

A piece of advice I would provide to others studying hospitality management would be to never be afraid to ask questions. In this major, our main priority is people, and in order to make sure we provide the best possible experience for each individual person, we need to always ask questions. The sooner that I realized that I have resources and people who are willing to help, the sooner I was able to provide a more fulfilling experience for both myself and the guest I am serving.