My Journey in the Event World

My journey in the event world has really taken off since I have attended my first SITE meeting. It all started at San Diego State University - Extended Studies program for Meeting & Events in March 2014. I was highly interested in the incentive travel and destination management field of this industry. I have worked with many production companies and coordinators in my past, but I have never learned about incentive travel and destination management.

I decided to take Geraldine Gatehouse’s Incentive Travel course at SDSU, and from then on, I was enthralled. In the intro portion of her class she informed us of associations to better help students, as well as professionals, connect and network in the industry. I went to SITE’s webpage, found the next available meeting to attend, and registered as a student.

A few weeks prior to the meeting, I received an informative email about Young Leaders and was thrilled to have the chance to learn more about the industry as well as its latest trends. I attended the first SITE meeting at Rancho Valencia and was welcomed by the friendly attendees.

Through conversing amongst the attendees I was asked where I work, what I do, and what I wanted to take away from the meeting. I let them know I was a student and looking for an internship, but unfortunately it had to be paid, being that I’m paying for school on my own. I knew this was going to be my biggest challenge and it was going to narrow down many of my opportunities.

In relaying this message to Jered, with Positive Adventures, he told me to connect with Stephanie as he works with them often and explained it is a great company. Just a few minutes later, I was in front of Stephanie and sharing my hopes to land an internship. She handed me her card, told me to contact her, and mentioned an opening for an internship.

The moment I arrived home, I followed up with her via email and she directed me to the next point of contact for the position. From there, I was interviewed and offered a full time internship at DCi on the design and development team; a whole new side of events that will allow me to learn, experience, and progress as an event professional.

This has been a dream come true and I hope to continue to grow with DCi. I’m a nine months in and loving every minute of it. Continuing my internship, I am now part of the Account Management team and working closely with the managers and coordinators on our programs.

I have to thank SITE for helping me begin this new journey. After my amazing experience, I registered as a member and Young Leader of SITE and am now a member on the committee. With the combination of my persistence and passion, as well as this wonderful program for students and professionals to meet and connect, I have now found my place in this event world.