Summer is a busy time for HES students to complete internships. This series will spotlight students and their intern experiences
Name: Lindsay Webster
Major: Hospitality Management
Internship Location: Hilary J. Boone Center
What was your typical day as an intern? A typical day as an intern for me started out with me approaching the events coordinator to see what my tasks were for the day. I helped her with invoicing, decoding, or setup and then I then talked with our accountant to see if she needed help with billing or running errands. After everything was taken care of with them, I helped the servers with setting up for events or clean up. I always finished the day by working at the front desk and anwering any phone calls on the main phone line at the Boone Center.
How did you applying classroom knowledge in your internship? I used a lot of my service industry skills that I learned in my service management class and applied it to how I interacted with our members at the Boone Center in person and on the phone. When I worked with our accounting/billing division, I used the skills I learned in my accounting and finance classes to help make the connections and learning process easier. Also, my food preparation class helped me a lot as I have worked with the servers and handling the food in the kitchen. Every single hospitality class that I have taken related to my internship in some way since I worked with all of the divisions at the Boone Center like the event planner, serving staff, event coordinator, accountant, and chefs.
What was one key thing you learned during your internship? One key thing that I learned during my internship is that event planning takes alot of time and organizational skills in order to stay focused and on track with each individual event. Another thing that I learned, along with time, you have to be very detail-oriented in order to keep guests and staff members happy.
What advice would you share with other students who are preparing to complete an internship? Never hesitate to ask any questions during your internship. Anything that you learn during your internship can help you in some way towards your future career choice. Always stay on task because you never know who might be watching and evaluating you on the job. Also try and meet as many people as you can because it's all about who you know and you just might get a job opportunity down the road.