Introducing Lia, a final year Event Management student at Staffordshire University.
Hey Lia! đź‘‹ Tell us about yourself and what you study.
I am a Level 6 Event Management student at Staffordshire University. Whilst doing my first year of what would be the Spanish equivalent of A-Levels, I changed my decision of what I wanted to do in terms of my career from Tourism to Events Management. I wasn’t enjoying doing my A-Levels, so I decided to drop out and do a Travel Agency & Events Management course instead. Up to this point, I have completed a Higher Education Certificate and I am currently waiting for my final year results for my undergraduate degree.
Why did you choose to study events, and what are your aspirations? ✨
Since I was a little girl, I have always attended events as Spain celebrates many cultural events throughout the year and I love the environment and experience that it creates. The reason why I’m studying events is because I want to be part of a team who creates those experiences and see how happy it makes people. I want to go into either the corporate event sector (such as conferences and exhibitions) or the music festivals sector, however my dream job would be to be part of the event team who organises any big music festivals, such as Glastonbury or Tomorrowland.
What have you learned & enjoyed most about your course? đź“š
I would say that the topic I enjoyed learning the most about were the current issues in the Events industry. I think it’s really important for everyone to know and understand what is happening in the industry and what is something that we, as students, can change being the future generation of event professionals by making the right decisions. My favourite piece of work would be a debate paper I submitted for the Current Issues in Events module, and I talked about the importance of engagement with volunteers for events. I’ve heard many times that some events don’t have enough volunteers or that volunteers have had bad experiences, and I think it’s important to get feedback and understand the reason behind these negatives by trying to improve the experiences and understand what motivates people to volunteer at events.
What work experience opportunities have you taken advantage of while studying and what did you learn from them? đź’«
I believe I have been lucky with my university, as they’ve been working with two local organisations and have created volunteer programmes, so we have the opportunity to gain some experience and lecturers are always encouraging us to volunteer as much as we can, even during these times. Also, I am very happy that as a final year project, we have to plan and deliver an event instead of writing a dissertation which is exciting and a great way for us to showcase what we’ve learned and gain more experience from it. I am happy to say that I took advantage of all those opportunities our university has given us, and I’ve learned that, when you are a student, you have to make the most of all of them or at least a few because it will give you experience and a new perspective of things.
How have you adjusted to virtual learning? đź’»
It’s been difficult because I suffer with ADHD, so having my lectures from home can sometimes be distracting, but I had to constantly make myself think I was going to campus for my lectures so I would get dressed, put my phone away, keeping myself organised and keeping that routine throughout the whole time has helped me a lot to stay productive.
Tell us about your favourite event? 🎪
The energy of the environment at Justin Bieber’s concert at the BTS Hyde Park 2017 was absolutely amazing and hypnotising.
In your opinion, what does the future of the event industry look like, and what are the upcoming trends? đź”®
I think that these last 12 months, there has been a breakthrough in the events industry. By this, I mean that it has helped the industry to evolve by forcing event professionals to open a new way of doing events and upskilling. In my opinion, the future of the events industry looks like event professionals will take these last 12 months into account and virtual and hybrid events will be more popular as time goes by, but also sustainability and new technologies will be taken into consideration more than ever before.
If you could describe the event industry in one word, what would it be? 🎟️
I would describe it as a family. My reason would be because in the events industry you will find many that will support you throughout your career and some may even become really good friends, however, you will still find the odd one that will try to put you down (thankfully, they are always the minority of the group).
What advice would you give to other students or aspiring event students? 🎉
Make the most of it. Enjoy the university experience and everything that it has to offer, get yourself out there, out of your comfort zone and volunteer as much as you can to get that experience, as well as raising your visibility in the industry.
Thank you Lia for taking part in the Event Grads Student Showcase feature. You can follow Lia's journey here:
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The Student Showcase aims to showcase the incredible talents, resilience, and expertise of event management students.
If you would like to contribute to the Event Grads blog, get in touch! E-mail eventgrads@gmail.com with the subject "Student Showcase" for more information.