McKenna Hill

Major: Event Management
Minor/option/emphasis: Hospitality Management
Company/Organization: Des Moines Golf & Country Club
Company/Organization website: http://www.dmgcc.org
Destination: West Des Moines, Iowa
Timeframe: Summer
Advisor/Coordinator Email: rmcclain@iastate.edu

Responsibilities

As an intern, I work in every single part of the country club depending on the week. So far, I have worked in fine dining and the more casual dining as a server and as a manager. I have also worked in banquets, running events and setting up/tearing down decor. I've even worked in housekeeping, the kitchen, and the front desk. You are trained in each position in order to have a full understanding of what each employee does throughout the country club and how it runs. You also have multiple opportunities to shadow each manager in order to see what they do every day and the kinds of situations they have to deal with.

Accomplishments

I would say my greatest accomplishment was successfully learning all the tasks of the majority of the employees at Des Moines Golf. It wasn't easy to learn and memorize what each of them do but now I can be asked to step in for anyone at the club and know exactly what I'm doing. It's awesome feeling like I know so much about this club and feeling confident that I learned everything I could. I believe being able to work in every part of the club will make it easier for me to relate to my employees in the future.

What advice would you give?

Event Management/Hospitality jobs have some weird hours! Make sure you are completely okay with working nights and weekends before taking on a job in this field. It can be hard sometimes to be working when it's most of your friends and families time off. Also, if you are someone who isn't sure which area of Event Management they want to go into, try finding an internship that is very well rounded and will give you some background in all areas. While I was working in a country club, I was able to work all kinds of events whether they were corporate events, weddings, or sporting events. This helped me to better understand which path I wanted to take in the future.

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