By Julia Bogdan
The inaugural So, You Want to Be an Event Planner? seminar was held in early September 2017 and was a great way for students to be introduced to event planning. Participants learned from, and networked with, industry leaders and professional planners.
“[Planning the seminar] was very in-depth,” said Naomi Johnson, Associate Professor and Department Chair of the Communication Studies program. The seminar began as an idea in October 2016 and was planned all the way up until a few days before the seminar.
The seminar helped participants have a good idea of the overview of the industry while broadening their horizons and encouraging networking.
During the convention, students were given a professional opportunity to network with respected professionals at the top of the field. “Students get so much [out of this opportunity],” Johnson said.
Students from Communication Studies and Business primarily signed up for the seminar. However, in the future, the planners behind the seminar are arranging to cater to more disciplines.
Emily Neighbo
rs, senior Communication Studies major said, “I signed up because I was trying to decide what I want to do [after graduation], and I feel like it opened up my eyes to how much more event planning is and made me want to do event planning even more.”
During the experience, students were able to ask the professionals for advice, have a professional networking session, and even just have a casual chat with them during lunch.
“The networking session was really exciting [because it was nice] to see students acting in such a professional manner, they really impressed me with the way they had prepared themselves, the way that they held themselves, and that they were able to [approach] an event that many people don’t get to go to until they are much older. I was really proud of our students and excited for them,” Johnson said.
According to the planners, it took a while to get just the right presenters. “I felt intimidated to call and ask [the speakers] if they wanted to come, but everyone was so nice and generous with their time and were really excited to come meet with students and to work with Longwood,” Johnson said. “I’m very grateful with how willing they were to spend time with us.”
Students were glad the professionals came because they received a good perspective on the profession, other than what they have learned in their classes.
“[In the next Event Planning Seminar,] we will give students the opportunity to plan an event and present it to the speakers at the end and get feedback, and from that they will receive a certification,” Johnson stated.
The certification program is the most exciting component because it will be an annual program open to alumni, community members, and all majors, where they hope to get a variety of people.
“We do want to keep that feeling of really wanting to be able to connect with the speakers and have close attention as they’re working through the process. We don’t want people feeling like they’re a face in a crowd,” Johnson said.
All of the speakers have agreed to continue to keep coming back to Longwood for the upcoming Event Planning Seminars, and they are in the process of offering a 3 to 4 day workshop in May of 2018.