Jackie Royston

Responsibilities

This internship involves a large amount of responsibilities, including but not limited to the following: I utilize event platforms like Caterease and Galaxy POS (Point of Sale). I promote an environment with an emphasis on hospitality and teamwork. I communicate and collaborate with other interns, supervisors, and various departments within the company. I am responsible for planning and then executing small to large scale events. This involves problem solving, planning ahead, and the need to be detail oriented. Along with this, there are also logistical things such as set-up and tear-down of these events.

Accomplishments

My biggest accomplishment would definitely have to be signing a brand new company, Housby, to hold an event at Adventureland! Picnics are the main corporate event Adventureland plans, so it is exciting I got to individually plan one out. I handled all email communication with the client, created a contract for them, and will be the person personally responsible for coordinating Housby’s event day of. Seeing as this company is not one of the returning ones, this was a huge win! If a newly signed company's event goes well, it means a possible client coming back yearly, which means more revenue. Beyond this picnic event, I have also booked several large groups solely for discounted group admission. While this is not an event, it is something planned through group sales and is still a crucial source of Adventurelands revenue.

Learning experience

The greatest lesson I learned from this internship experience is the importance of mutual respect. Respect is something preached about to every person starting at a very young age. Being in a professional workplace now, I can see firsthand why respect is so critical. Without mutual respect from all within an organization, the very base of everything falls apart. I strongly believe respect is equally as important as communication, the two together are what make the foundation to a properly functioning company. It was great to see this first hand to truly solidify what I have always been told.

What advice would you give?

I would have to say my biggest advice is to not rule out any companies. As an Event Management major myself, Adventureland is certainly not the first company that came to my mind when I started looking for internships. However, it ended up being the first company I worked in events for, teaching me all sorts of industry standards and skills I will be able to apply in future jobs. This is similar to the advice that one of my supervisors gave me as well. She said she originally chose Adventureland because it put her out of her comfort zone. She is someone who isn't a huge fan of the outdoors or roller coasters, so there is really nothing that would jump out to her about Adventureland at a glance. After interning in the special events position I am currently in though, she felt it became a perfect fit and ended up taking a job here! Events is such a versatile field and I would encourage everyone in it to take advantage of this and the wide range of opportunities that comes along with it.