Getting Involved and Leadership Opportunities

Being involved on campus is very important for multiple reason. Some of those reasons include building your resume, networking, making friends, etc. I am involved within my sorority along with a couple of HTM clubs. I think volunteering is also very important.  I am currently involved in Delta Zeta Sorority, Purdue Event Planning Society, and Purdue Hospitality and Tourism Managemento Career Day Host/Hostess.

I joined my sorority mostly to make friends, but have come to realize it has given me a lot more. I have been able to be involved with in my sorority house in ways that could be beneficial to a future career in the Hospitality Industry. A few skills I have from being in a sorority is time management and team work. Within the house I apart of the Food and Beverage Committee, Programming Committee, and Founders Committee. As a part of the Food and Beverage Committee I help plan the menu for special and formal events. As a member of the Programming Committee I help plan simple and formal events such events include parents day, academic dinner, recruitment events, guest speakers, etc. By being on the founders committee I plan the founders day events and keep connections with alumni. I am in the pursuit of being the head of one or more of these committees in the next year. Along with those committees I am also very involved in local and nation philanthropies. These include raising money for the Painted Turtle Camp, Starkey Hearing Foundation, and the West Lafayette Hannah Center.

This semester is my first semester being involved with the Purdue Event Planning Society. I applied to be on the executive board and starting next semester I will be the secretary. I wanted to join a HTM club, and thought that the event planning club sounded like the most fun. I figured the club involved party planning, looking at pretty pictures of weddings, gossiping with girls, etc, so why wouldn't I want to join. Surprisingly, I have found it is much more then that. The club does help with campus party planning, but it also has a lot of great guest speakers and is an opportunity to volunteer. This semester we have; helped plan the Rotary Club Halloween Party, had Ali Phillips as a guest speaker, and volunteered at the Wish Upon a Wedding Gala in Chicago.

I have been a hostess for the Hospitality and Tourism Management Career Day for two years. By being a hostess I am able to connect better with the companies that come to our career day. My job is to help set up and escort the company for the day. I also get the opportunity to go a lunch with all the companies that only career day hosts/hostesses are invited to.