Internship
Internship is a requirement for seniors attending New Technology High School. It is a process which must entail a 50 hour internship, time sheets and a reflection paper. Below is my internship work summary, which was carried out with Napa Valley Celebrations.
My internship was carried out with an event and wedding coordinator, Traci Steuteville. Traci owns and operates her business out of her home. She has been an event and wedding coordinator for eight years in and around the Napa Valley area. Traci’s business is Napa Valley Celebrations and her annual sales are approximately $500,000. She does not have too many employees, unless the event is over thirty guests. In the case of the event exceeding thirty guests, she works with another event coordinator Jennifer Stone, who has an esteemed reputation in the Napa Valley, having helped establish the French Laundry in Yountville. Since French Laundry’s opening in 1994, Jennifer has worked as a special event coordinator for five years. The first event I worked on was an event which was over thirty people and during this event, I was Jennifer’s assistant. During the second event, I was Traci’s assistant because there were only forty guests. The work objectives set out were to attend a minimum of two events, to gain an understanding of what a wedding coordinator does, organizing and maintaining linen samples and swatches in the library (which are used for table cloths, napkins and chair covers) and having an overall greater understanding of running a small business.
The first objective to be completed was attending a minimum of two events. I attended two events and was not able to attend anymore because there were none on the schedule. One of the most important goals was to gain knowledge of what a wedding coordinator does and I feel like I really got a thorough understanding of this job. As an assistant, I took on smaller but equally important tasks. To name a few, setting table cloths, making sure the seating arrangements and number of chairs at the tables were correct, helping to bring and set up all necessary supplies, and essentially creating a “perfect” aesthetic setting. Organizing and maintaining the samples and swatch library was one of the more tedious tasks because there were two different libraries and both libraries required the same swatches. Another part of maintaining the swatches was determining which samples had been discontinued and which new samples we did not have in our collection. In order to make sure both libraries were complete, I compiled a list of samples we did not have in order to obtain missing samples and thoroughly organize the libraries for further use. A major aspect of managing and operating a small business is to stay really organized. Every aspect of a business can function to its highest potential if it is organized. Having a small business in Napa Valley also requires an immense number of contacts and connections to related fields. Related fields could be anything from florists to photographers to hotels to venues etc. Another part of being an event coordinator is understanding it is not as glamorous as it looks and that there are a lot of behind the scenes minor details that accentuate the event and really create a wonderful ambiance.
Tasks which I performed included copying Jennifer’s emergency kit, creating a new kit for Traci, organizing bills and expenses by year and month to further prepare before taxes, cutting branches for decoration on the menus, hot gluing corks together in order to use them for place card holders, inputting contacts, picking mustard for hand-made paper and performing other minor errands. Interactions between co-workers, lessons, methods, theories, and expectations that relating to NTHS classes because these are all things which are instilled in each student either as a part of the NTHS community or as a group member. Napa Valley Celebrations methods are very relatable to the methods used in my classes because each expects higher accountability, and etiquette of responsibility that are required of a New Tech student. Knowledge I acquired in my internship environment relate to the eight learning outcomes because there was a use of all of the outcomes throughout the course of my internship. The only thing that could be more stressed in the NTHS curriculum is the importance of etiquette. Etiquette is stressed more senior year, but it should begin in freshman year. The educational benefits that were gained in the overall experience of my internship was understanding the Napa Valley, on-site look at how an event should be organized in terms of time, how to transition from a ceremony to the reception, understanding of color theme and understanding of the immense hard work, and time spent on an event and the little details which truly complete the atmosphere.
The one and only technology tool I used during my internship was the computer for inputting data concerning contacts. I also learned how to use the in-car phone dialing system which I had not previously learned or used at NTHS. There was not any technology used other than the computer and I was not able to introduce any technology to the company that she had not previously used.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my internship program. I would definitely recommend this type of internship to other students. My internship was intellectually challenging because it was so new to me, but once I transitioned into a different way of thinking, I was able to diligently finish tasks and challenges without difficulty. I was able to take initiative with certain tasks, learning how to complete them and in a manner which made sense to me. This internship experience affected my career goals by giving me ideas for weddings and events. It also made me want to pursue my career goal even more and it made me more acutely aware of things to expect. In total, this internship immensely motivated me to become an event coordinator and be an entrepreneur.