Mia Wheeler

Responsibilities

I am a member of the event staff and work before, during, and after all events held at Shadow Ridge. I assist in the set-up of the venue which entails arranging tables to fit the number of people attending, decorating, making sure the area is clean, and stocking beverages in the bar. During events, I make sure I'm present so I can anticipate any needs from the guests. This includes filling waters, picking up any empty glasses or dirty plates, and taking drink orders. If it's a formal dinner event, I'm helping make sure that all food courses are going out on time and attendees are getting the right meals if they have diet restrictions. After the events, I assist in taking down any decorations, tearing down tables, cleaning, and making sure the area is prepared for whatever is happening the next day.

Accomplishments

I believe that my overall customer service skills have gotten a lot more effective. It's much easier for me to approach complete strangers with confidence and greet them or engage in small talk. I know that being personable and friendly is a huge trait to have with event planning because you're constantly working with different people.

Learning experience

Throughout this internship, I learned that one of the most important things to do is to always anticipate. This means to constantly be one step ahead of the attendees. The goal is to never have a guest ask for something because you had already anticipated their need and found a solution for it. This was a great lesson I learned because doing this will make you stand out and contribute a lot to being successful in the event industry.

What advice would you give?

Everyone has to start somewhere and not all internships are going to allow you to be doing all the duties of an event planner. With whatever responsibilities you're given, take them seriously, and hold yourself accountable to always be getting something out of it. Watch and learn from the event planners or managers at your internship on how they run their events, delegate duties to staff, talk to customers, etc. because this experience and exposure to the event industry will aid you in being successful with your future career path.