Gianna Paredes – Event Planning Internship

Hello, my name is Gianna Paredes, and I am a senior here at Garden Spot High school. For my first semester, I am an intern at the Northern Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce, located in Ephrata at the Brossman Business Center Complex. I am hoping to study Hospitality and Event Management abroad. I am an aspiring Wedding Coordinator. I am so grateful for Liz who has taken me under her wing as my mentor.

The main thing that we do here at the Chamber of Commerce is plan events for business networking. Some of my daily duties include creating name tags for event members, filing, and organizing, attending meetings, and preparing for events. We provide a variety of types of events, including ribbon cuttings, networking events, and business training. We try to have at least four to five events per month and so part of my duties is to set up these events. We also talk to the person who is the host at the venue and make sure that everyone is on the same page, ensuring that the event runs smoothly. To have an event we need to plan it. For example, we host business after-hours events every month. So, one of our members can reach out to use their space for an event, and we can plan out hosting this event at their place of business. We will have meetings with the members to ensure that they get what they desire out of the event. So, they get to advertise their business, and everyone else gets to network. I have also been to meetings to discuss how the business can be set off for the event desired and how we could make the crowd flow where we want them to. I also go to personal meetings where I can meet with businesspeople and talk about what they all do as an informational meeting.

This experience for me has been nothing but positive. I was a little nervous about how it was going to go at first simply because my main career goal is to be a wedding coordinator, and this was a business networking internship. I am so glad that I did this. This has taught me to keep an open mind when thinking about my future. I was limiting myself to just planning weddings, and while that is still what I am planning to do, I know that I have more options. I have gotten so many connections and met so many people who want to help me in the future. I have learned how to interact with adults better socially. Even as a social person, networking really takes you out of your comfort zone and that is a skill that I will be able to use for the rest of my life.

Since I have made so many connections while learning how to network, I have been open to some opportunities. It has been my dream for a long time to travel and now it can come true. I have met people who have connections with bed and breakfast owners over in Ireland. This gives me the chance to reach out to these people and make worldwide connections. This internship is not only affecting my present, but also my future and what it will turn out to be. Without this internship, I might not have thought it possible for me to move to another country. While this internship is obviously not a free trip across the world, it is a step, and for kids in my situation, each step we take to our dream future is important. I am excited to use the skills I learned here at the Northern Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce in the future and be able to look back at these wonderful memories and the people that made it possible.