Emily Hovey

Responsibilities

As an Events Intern, I have the responsibility of leading Clouds wine and hors d'oeuvre events and assisting with our Saturday night dinner events. I have many tasks for these events, such as: preparing checklists, designing and setting up decor and tablescapes, promoting on the Clouds Facebook and Instagram, researching ideas for food items, organizing/preparing the event space before and after the event, keeping good communication and energy with staff, and making sure we have absolutely everything we need in order to make the event successful.

Accomplishments

My greatest accomplishment so far has been our first Wine and Hors d'Oeuvres event. I found out I was completely in charge of it only a week before and I had so much to research, plan, and create. On top of it all, I had to write a small speech. I kept messing up every time I practiced in front of the other interns. But once the event started, we had everything we needed, and when I gave my speech I didn't stumble over my words or forget what I wanted to say. The entire evening went better than I could've imagined and all of our attendees loved it. It set the tone for the rest of the wine nights for the Summer.

Learning experience

My greatest lesson that I learned from my internship is that you have to be open to constructive criticism. Being open to and accepting of criticism helps improve yourself on a much deeper level. Once you take your ego out of your work and realize that it isn't personal when someone gives you criticism, you can see things in a way you didn't see them before and you can understand others' points of view much easier.

What advice would you give?

My advice for future students is to just go for it! Go for what speaks to you. Look to work at a place you feel connected to. And take risks! Do things differently than you've done before, and see yourself as having the skills and recognize that you have the strength to go through with anything you put your mind to. It can be scary, but investing in yourself is the first step in being comfortable and confident in a job/internship.