Indiana INTERNnet celebrated internship excellence on Feb. 5, 2014, at the 8th Annual IMPACT Awards luncheon. Though the event is over and the winners have been announced, we are continuing to celebrate the nominees’ successes.
This is a blog by Jessica Otteman, a senior studying Business Administration and Facility & Event Management at Grace College in Winona Lake, IN.
Last summer, I had the privilege of working as the Event Management Intern at the headquarters of the Special Olympics of Southern California in Long Beach. While my time with the Special Olympics seemed short (it lasted from May to July), I learned about what goes into making a large-scale athletic event happen by working alongside the Special Olympics staff.
______________________________________
“To provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympic athletes and the community.”
– Mission of the Special Olympics
______________________________________
Throughout my internship, I worked under the supervision of Crystal Pauley, the Manger of Volunteers for the Special Olympics of Southern California. I assisted her in assigning the thousands of volunteers to assignments for the Summer Games, verifying data through the organization’s computer database and corresponding with individual sponsors and volunteers regarding their assignments for the Summer Games. This was my role from the start of my internship to the first week of June. The week prior to the Summer Games, I assisted in everything from printing off volunteer nametags, to printing off check-in sheets, to contacting last-minute volunteers, and even to counting meal tickets and wristbands for the volunteers. I quickly learned that there are many little details that go into making such a large event run smoothly.
During the weekend of the Summer Games, held at California State University Long Beach, I worked directly with volunteers – checking them in and verifying that they knew where they needed to be. I was given the responsibility of working at the volunteer check-in booth to trouble shoot any problems that should arise. Crystal was there with me but allowed me to take charge of a specified area, and this allowed me the experience of managing a large group of people in hectic situations. We arrived at the site Friday afternoon, worked for a few hours setting up Friday, arrived at 6 a.m. Saturday morning, worked until 3 p.m. Saturday, and then came back Sunday and worked from 6 a.m. – 1 p.m. It was a long and tiring weekend, but it was so worth the experience. I would definitely do it all over again!
In the weeks following the Summer Games, I continued working at the headquarters, assisting with sorting through the day-of volunteer sign-up forms and looking at data to determine the number of volunteers. I was even given the opportunity to sit through planning meetings to talk through what could be done differently for next year. The last few weeks of my internship were spent planning for the Fall Games and preparing the next set of volunteer slots to open at the end of summer.
As a Facility & Event Management Major, this internship was a great experience. I enjoyed working at the Special Olympics of Southern California headquarters, and at the end of summer, I was sad to say goodbye. The staff treated me like one of them and allowed me to take part in meetings and training sessions. I learned a lot more from this internship than I ever could have imagined.
