What do you do when your Hospitality career goals change, and you need an internship? At Johnson & Wales University, you create one — that's just what Greg, event planner extraordinaire, did.
“I’m lucky JWU gave me that freedom. Not every student gets this chance.”
Did I Choose the Right Major? Greg thought he wanted to manage a hotel. That's why he he majored in Hospitality Management. “You know that fresh smell when you walk into a hotel?” he laughs. “To me, that smell always said, You’re on vacation!" “I wanted to work in a place that always felt like vacation. So I worked for my uncle, who was hotel manager. I found out: It’s not really a 'vacation' at all!” Event Planning at JWUOnce Greg realized he was looking for a different career, he focused on what he what he loved: planning big celebrations on campus. "I pretty much lived at Student Activities,” he says. “I was super involved in high school (I grew up in Syracuse, there wasn’t much else to do). But I got good at it.” No Internship? Make One “I basically walked in to Student Activities and said ‘I want to set this up this internship.’” Greg oversaw huge student events like Midnight Madness and Wildcat Welcome, a nonstop week of concerts and games.
“You learn as much planning these campus events as you would at a company. I booked vendors, brought performers on campus. I learned it all.”Next Stop: Career at JP Morgan Did it pay off? You bet. Greg was hired by JP Morgan Chase. The perfect fit?
“Everything I’m doing in this job, I did as a student at JWU. I was super busy. But I learned more about planning events than I ever expected.”