A Bitter Sweet Ending!

As my event planning internship ends, I wanted to extend a sincere thank you to Jennifer Ball and “Knot Your Average Events” for providing me with such a great experience this semester. It was exciting to be able to apply educational and developing lessons learned in real life action plans. I am grateful for the expertise Jennifer added in aiding my development as a future event planner in the recreation sector. This Spring internship has been the best experience for me as I conclude my undergraduate degree.

Working in the event planning industry has grown to be my personal interest and passion. With the help of Jennifer Ball both as a professor and mentor throughout this internship, I have learned positive and productive use of talent and education to creating a career path. One important piece of my internship that I have taken away and will carry in my future is the importance of networking. Networking is critical to your professional growth and development. Being connected with others who share your interests will keep you from becoming outdated and behind the times also collaborating to share ideas. During this semester I have had the pleasure to attend many networking and social events meeting other in my career field.

Although I previously worked as an employee for “Knot Your Average Events”. As I took on the internship role it opened doors for me to view the business side of the company from a different perspective of learning. Jennifer has demonstrated with many of hours in the office and prep work that loving what you do for a living makes the late nights worth it. As I assisted this semester dealing with a lot of weddings, I have learned so much of the behind the scenes legwork that goes unnoticed to the public eye. It is important to be a leader and very strong with communication to succeed in planning large events. Always be prepared for the unexpected and always have trust in yourself. I admire Jennifer as this semester shadowing her, I don't recall a time I have ever seen her down or out of character. Dealing with wedding planning and the stress of not one but multiple brides at once can become overwhelming. While some days were worse than other, Jennifer would always have solutions and always smile no matter the weight of a situation. In my eyes, this is what makes her a successful business owner.

With my undergraduate studies coming to an end. I will always remember Spring 2017 as an intern for “Knot Your Average Events” and the lessons learned to apply in my future career.

Again, Thank you Jennifer for a great semester!

-Riddim Hackett

Spring 2017 Intern