Diana Cobian

Major: Event Management
Minor/option/emphasis: Apparel, Merchandising, and Design
Company/Organization: Spectra / Iowa Events Center
Company/Organization website: https://www.iowaeventscenter.com/
Destination: Des Moines, Iowa
Timeframe: Spring
Advisor/Coordinator Email: rmcclain@iastate.edu

Responsibilities

• Assist in scheduling personnel and tasks for day-to-day operations as well as event set-up, event management and event teardown • Shadow Operations Supervisors to gain an understanding of how to manage, direct and motivate Operations crew before, during and after an event • Attend Operations, Engineering and IT Department meetings along with staff and event meetings to learn effective communication between departments • Shadow Chief Engineer, Assistant Chief Engineer, IT Manager, Production Manager and Operations Administrative Assistant to gain understanding of tasks each perform

Accomplishments

My greatest accomplishment from my time at the Iowa Events Center was getting to work the NCAA march madness tournaments hosted in the Wells Fargo Arena. I was able to prepare the venue, set up different aspects of the event, and learn about what all kinds of departments had to do in order to prepare the event, do during the matches, and after the event. It was surreal to think about the mass amount of people this event reached.

What advice would you give?

My advice for future students is to not be afraid to be more hands on in the event industry and to take the time to learn about the staff you work with to gain an understanding of how to manage and direct them in an effective way.

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