Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Are You Feeling Green in a Good Way?

Many of you may be formiliar with the term "going green". I am not referring to feeling sick, but an environmental awareness! It's a great way to start taking care of ourselves and Earth. Going green has to do with global warming and making the world a safer and healthier place. I heard about this idea through my event internship. Many meetings are going green, as well as hotels. Hotels are using solar panels. It's a great and motivational tool. Hybrid cars are a part of this process. This video will give you a better idea of what this great idea entails!

Sports and Career Fair

Well, an unfortunate even happened last night. The ASU basketball team was defeated with a score of Florida - 70 pts. to ASU - 57 pts. It happened to our football team and now our basketball team, losing that is. ASU's basketball team had 9 wins and 9 losses the whole season. Yet, U of A had 8 wins and 10 losses and they were chosen for March Madness? It baffles me, but too little, too late! Luckily, we have a great baseball team, so there's hope!!! I have to admit, I haven't followed up much on the ASU sports until this year. In the previous years, they haven't done so great, so this has come to a great surprise! This afternoon, ASU is hosting a career fair! This is a wonderful way to network and meet future employers. I strongly advise you to partake in this event if you decide ASU is for you! One of the greatest things I have learned about the College of Public Programs is that they really set you up for a successful future. Just last week, there was a free resume training and consultation in the lobby of the University Center. In this case, you can perfect your resume, and go to the career fair the following week looking like a pro! ASU teams up with a bunch of employers that set up desks with information about their company. It allows you as a student, to get your name and face to the employer and set a lasting impact! It allows you to ask questions about their company and really get an outlook on what jobs may capture your interest. As I have told you, I am currently doing my internship. The employers that attend this event are not only looking for part-time and full-time employees, but interns as well! ASU even prepares you for the career fair, so you don't show up unprofessional and unprepared. Here is the link you can copy and paste to see the preparation process: http://www.aug.edu/career_center/A%20Guide%20for%20Career%20Fair%20Success.pdf. Unfortunately, my blog won't allow me to insert a hyperlink, so you will have to do it the old fashioned way. I highly encourage you to participate in all functions such as these, in order to prosper in your future.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

SPRING TRAINING!


Hello everyone! Well I didn't get the chance to indulge in spring break. When it is your last semester as a tourism student, you have to partake in an intense internship. It consists of forty hour weeks and a lot of writing for the internship class. In turn, you don't have to attend any classes, because it is a 12 credit class. Springbreak is just another week of work for me, so I didn't get to enjoy it as many students do. I love my internship so it makes up for that! I do get to enjoy one thing this time of year and that is spring training! I am sure you gathered I am a Cubs fan by this point! Although we have waited a good 95 years for a championship, I feel our time will come! I was able to relax last Friday and watch them play the Angels. Everyone deserves some down time, and what better way then to enjoy 80 degree weather in March and watch your favorite baseball team play and lose! I have been working intensely with this internship, and have been working numerous events. I worked one yesterday at an Arabian horse stable in Carefree, Az. It was quite the commute! It was absolutely beautiful. We assisted the clients on to the buses at the Boulders Resort and to the horse stable. They enjoyed a beautiful Arabian set up dinner outside, and were able to watch a horse show. It was gorgeous to say the least! It was a long night and a long drive, but well worth it. It is nice to see different event venues and get acquainted with Arizona. Since I am from Chicago, it can get confusing at times and I am still learning where everything is after four years! I love doing events at the different resorts, because it is like a mini vacation for me! It is home away from home, so to speak!

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Internship Is Amazing!,

My internship is such an adventure! It has been such a great learning experience! I am so busy with it though, that I don't have much time of a social life. If it will advance me in my career, then I don't mind not having a social life! Last Tuesday, I did an event for a bunch of loan officers. They were staying at the JW Marriott. I worked with a partnering company called Southwest Conference Planners. My responsibility was to get everyone registered and collect their business cards. We entered their names and business cards into the database. The company I worked with liked me so much, that they wanted to take me to Las Vegas with them. They had a conference there the following day, and they were flying out that night. Unfortunately, that was not enough time to get me a ticket and hotel room. It is still flattering that they even considered me. They said I had a great work ethic, and that it seemed like I was experienced in this field. This was the first time I ever worked a hospitality desk. I worked from 6 am until 11 am. It was a long morning, but everyone was so nice, so it went by quickly. I love experiencing all these different events. It really expands my knowledge on the whole event industry.I also worked with Yvette this whole week in her office. We processed receipts and went over time sheets. It sounds dull, but we make it fun! We have a great time in the office, and we really get to know each other a lot better, rather then working in a big office or at a big company. I have a good feeling about my future, and being able to network with other companies. I have already begun networking, and it has already shown it's benefits. This following week, Yvette will be in Boston. I get to take care of all the office work, and check in with other staff to make sure there jobs are going great! I can't wait to see what the future holds!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Hey Everyone!

Hello students! I hope everyone is having a happy Tuesday!!! I am trying to show you some pictures from my past study abroad experiences! I wanted to show you the link to my newletter article as well. Dr. Teye is a very prestigious and renowned professor at ASU. Everyone who knows him, loves him, and everyone who has heard about him will learn to love him. He is in charge of the study abroad programs, and if it weren't for him, I probably would have missed many amazing opportunities throughout my college experience. Dr. Teye honored me by asking me to write an article in the International Programs newsletter, providing information about my study abroad experiences. He wanted my article to help recruit other college students to the study abroad program. People don't realize what an amazing experience it is! They don't understand it is blending culture, knowledge, and fun all together. I am so glad I took advantage of these programs and I strongly encourage you to do the same!!! Here is the link to my newsletter article. I hope you enjoy it!!! http://scrd.asu.edu/portal/ia/study-abroad-programs/program-newsletter

Also, here are a few pictures of my travels. I want to insert a slideshow with them, but I need to talk to my fellow StARS for some tips on that!

Beautiful water

This is our cruise ship just sailing. I thought the water was beautiful, so I took this artsy shot. I thought it was amazing!

Aruba beach

This is a beautiful hut and beach in Aruba!


Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Internship

I have been so busy with my internship! I love it!!! Last week, I told you about Bondurant. Well, I had another event on Thursday, which was just as exciting, if not more! I went to the Phoenician and I had to help access about 40 lawyers on to a bus and to a restaurant called Furio. It has food that is American Fusion style, and it is set up as a lounge. It is very romantic and relaxing. It was a great environment for lawyers. My job for this event was to supervise the dinner and made sure everything went well. I had to make sure service was up to par and that the lawyers were having a pleasant evening. I sat at the bar area, which was far from the lawyers, but close enough to keep an eye on them. I worked on paperwork for my supervisor, and I was able to partake in the same four course meal the lawyers enjoyed. It was sensational! The appetizer consisted of crab cakes, artichoke dip, and a chicken pastry fluff. I then received a scrumptious salad with a vinagrette dressing. It was wonderful! The best part was the main course! I ordered parmesan covered shrimp on top of a prosciutto risotto. It was out of this world! Desert was, of course, the best! It was tiramisu! I was blown away that I was able to receive this delicious meal for free! After the meal, I helped escort the lawyers on to the bus and back to the Phoenician. It was a fun night, and I am so glad I am taking advantage of these experiences! I have been going to my supervisor's office and doing work she is unable to do. Right now, she is out of town on business and I am taking care of all her office duties. It is nice to take over responsibility and be entrusted with all these tasks. I am glad she can depend on me to get the work done! I absolutely love it and I am having a great time!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Seattle and Bondurant!

I know it has been awhile since I have posted anything. I apologize! I went to Seattle over the weekend and it was amazing! It is such a beautiful city! It was sunny all weekend and you could see a picture perfect view of Mount Rainier. The city is so old and historic, and there is so much to do! I know downtown Phoenix is well on it's way to becoming a built up, beautiful city. I came back on Monday and had to work an event on Tuesday. The event was at Bondurant Racing School right near Sheraton Wild Horse Pass. We were hosting the event for the top truck sellers at Daimler-Chrysler around the United States. The clients were extremely nice and so easy to work with! We had numerous activities for the people. They were able to drive a Corvette or Ferari. They could drive speed boats or just ride along on one. They could go to the casino. I was in charge of giving a breath-a-lyzer test to everyone who wanted to drive the speed boats. Luckily, everyone passed. After all the activities were done, a live band from Canada performed while the guests enjoyed a buffet dinner. The band was called Roadhammers, and apparently they are huge in Canada! We were able to enjoy the wonderful food even though we were part of the staff. We also could listen to the music and dance to it as well! It was such a great experience! I worked this event as part of my internship. If you become a tourism major, you can work wonderful events such as this! Tourism is not limited to event planning. You can work for a hotel, CVB, wedding planners, etc. If you decide you don't want to do your internship in Arizona, you can go anywhere in the United States. There are some instances where you can get an internship in a different country too! This major allows so many opportunities and opens so many different doors! I encourage you to take advantage of it!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Panama Canal!!!

This is just a quick video of the Panama Canal. Our cruise ship is actually going through the locks and it was one of the most amazing experience of my life! You can have that opportunity or one similar to it if you ever study abroad!

Internship

At times, the internship process can become a bit tedious. There is a bunch of written work for it, because it is a twelve-credit class. I actually enjoy writing and prefer it to test taking! For those of you who aren't great test takers, you will enjoy this part of the college process as well! I have been doing a lot of filing and paper work for Yvette. She teamed up with the Super bowl this year, and she thinks she will again next year! The Super bowl is in Florida next year. Yvette told me she might need me to be stationed there to interview and have meetings with potential staff members. I am so excited I chose this internship! It has already given me so many opportunities! I may be able to go to a meeting in the Bahamas at the end of May. I have learned how to do invoices and organize time sheets this past week. You need to do time sheets in order to coordinate payroll for the staff that worked. It is all a long process, and you get people constantly calling and wondering where their checks are. It can become such a nuisance and headache! I love the job because Yvette makes it exciting, even on the worst days! I can't wait to see what my future has to hold! I love my major and I love my internship!

Monday, February 4, 2008

Superbowl!!!

Hello everybody! This weekend was exhausting, but it was such a blast! I won't even tell you the hours I worked! As I stated earlier, I work for Yvette at Wingteam, which is an event planning company. She started the company on her own, and is very successful. Yvette and I teamed up to hire people to work the Super Bowl. We worked with another event company called Gameday Management. I actually helped coordinate transportation for the Super Bowl. It sounds tedious, and to be quite honest, at time it can be. For the most part, it was interesting. I started at the Valley Ho in Scottsdale. I had to direct NFL Corporate staff to their buses. I saw Ian Zering from 90210 and he made a point of making sure we knew who he was! That was pretty cool! I was able to go to the Super Bowl, but just the parking lot! They held a party for all the bus drivers and Gameday staff. We were able to watch the football game until the end of the third quarter! We then directed people back to their buses, depending on which hotel they stayed at. There were probably 85 buses there, so you can imagine how complicated that could get! I really had a hand's on experience, and saw what goes on behind the scenes of an event. I learned that transportation is probably not for me, but at least I figured that out early on. I had more fun working with Yvette and working on time sheets and works orders for the staff. It is a lot of paper work, but you have to start at the bottom of the totem pole and work your way up. I was already offered a job for an event company in Florida, because they really like my hard work. The most important thing I can't stress enough is NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK! Build up your resume, and take advantage of Career Fairs and job opportunities. You must get your name out there and make impressions. You never know how important they are, and you could get offered some pretty interesting jobs! Take a chance and get out there! I am so glad I have!

Friday, February 1, 2008

Internet Concerns

Is the Internet a learning tool? Is it a form of socialization? Does our generation depend on it too much? Does it define who we are? Do we become immune to responsibility as a result of Internet dependency? Are we more susceptible to laziness and becoming less productive because of the Internet’s unprecedented power? Many of our classes depend on computer access. Does it make us lose our concentration on what’s really important? Learning is the key to our future. We pay thousands of dollars a year on tuition, but is it worth it when we are prone to checking our Myspace rather then listening to our professors? Internet can be our best friend and our worst enemy. It can hinder our education. It can cause the inability to focus on the important things in life. Will children ten years from now even know what a book is? Will they know how to write their own papers or just depend on the Internet and plagiarize? The Internet is a malevolent tool, yet we are enforced to use it. I don’t know what to believe honestly. I feel for educational purposes, the Internet is a necessity. Yet, it is like an oxymoron. It’s good and bad. It’s our friend and our foe. It is used to find relationships, and it breaks relationships up. It is used to make new friends, and it creates enemies. It creates compliments and insults. It is so hard to understand! It is like a magnetic force. As much as we don’t want to depend on it, it has a way of pulling us back. Will the Internet ever be used for the right purpose or will it continue to get exploited? I just don’t know anymore. You think the world we live in is scary. Well I have news for you. It has become a heck of a lot scarier, and I don’t see it changing anytime soon.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Just Some Food For Thought

I often wonder if you work too much can you fall off the deep end? I sometimes feel like I have reached that point. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. I grew up with the knowledge that working hard will only produce positivity in your life. I have seen great results from the hard work my family has instilled upon me. I love to work. Especially, in a field related to my major. I love to travel and put smiles on people’s faces. That’s my number one goal. I want to appear happy and confident and hopefully that will rub off on the people I am surrounded by. I want my smiles and hard working mentality to be contagious. People who are unwilling to learn and are lazy really trouble me. How far will that get you in life? What positive outcomes are established when you don’t put effort into what you do? I am doing an internship for a small event company called Wingteam. I absolutely, positively, love it. I admire Yvette. She is the woman who started this company and is the president of it. She is so young and so successful. I aspire to have the same accomplishments one day. I am determined, self-motivated, and if I put my mind to it, I can achieve anything. I will be a success. I will be financially comfortable. I will love what I do! Have a great day students! Remember: Anticipate nothing, appreciate everything!!!

Saturday, January 26, 2008

StAr Faces


Good afternoon, students! I just thought I would show you a picture of all the StARS faces. I am the only blonde in the group. This picture was taken last Wednesday! It was my first photo shoot, if that is what you want to call it! We literally had to take hundreds of pictures all over downtown Phoenix. It was a blast! I hope you enjoy our blogs! I can't wait to keep you updated and hopefully hold your interest! Tourism is such a wonderful major. It opens up so many opportunities! Tourism is a rapidly growing industry, and careers are constantly popping up. Feel free to ask any questions, and I will do my best to answer them in full detail! Have a wonderful Saturday!

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Welcome Students!


Hello, everybody! My name is Danielle, and I am originally from Chicago. I visited Arizona when I was 14, and I knew from that moment that this was the place for me. When I was accepted into ASU, it was like a dream come true. The knowledge I have gained from the professors is incredible. I learn something new everyday. I am currently a hotel management/ tourism major at the downtown Phoenix campus. My major is a part of the College of Public Programs (CoPP). I absolutely love my major. I have always been an avid traveler, and I want to see the world! I am currently doing an internship for Wingteam. Wingteam is an event planning company. I am planning the Superbowl this year, and it is an amazing experience! I have studied abroad twice, and I have been to places that some people dream about. My first study abroad experience was to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. It was such a great cultural experience. I learned so much. I am more of a hands on kind of person, instead of books and lectures. I was able to go to these unique and beautiful places and really experience the world of tourism in person, rather then a book. Last year, I did the winter abroad program on a cruise ship. I went to Aruba, Panama Canal, Costa Rica, and Curacao. These are just a few examples of the experiences you can partake in as a CoPP student. I will elaborate more upon these experiences further along the road. I just wanted to give you a taste of who I am and why I love my tourism major! The picture is taken in Australia at the zoo. Yes, that is a real Australian koala!

Ciao for now!
Danielle