Shannon is loving her Team Spirit placement

UCLan Event Management has had very strong links with Oldham based Team Spirit for a number of years. This year we have four Events students currently on placement in various departments at Team Spirit and they are all loving the experience. Shannon Noone is in the Events Team. Her role is to: send out digital pictures post-event, collate feedback, deal with wages and expenses and of course work on the events themselves. Her tutors recently visited her to find out how she is enjoying her placement. Shannon explains:
"I have loved being here; it’s like a family and it’s relaxed but at the same time very professional. I have my own project promoting Event Management as a career in schools and I am enjoying that.

I enjoy the theming side of events and one of my favourites was a masquerade ball at The Monastery in Manchester. The theme was a Venetian Ball and we themed the whole journey including ‘airport check in’, ‘flight’ and arrival. The venue is spectacular and it made the event extra special."

Shannon is looking forward to learning more about events and getting more first-hand practical experience before her return to UCLan in September for the final year of her Event Management degree.

The Lion King and snow fairies; Gabby’s Disney adventure

Our students have the opportunity to do a year’s placement in industry after the second year, to help them gain practical skills and experience to help their future employment prospects. Events student Gabby Roberts spent a year working in the Animal Kingdom in Disney World, Florida.Gabby takes up the story:

‘I spent the first three months working in merchandising which meant meeting the public and selling Disney souvenirs. After that, I spent the remainder of the placement working in the Lion King Theatre. I was responsible for crowd control, and this was a huge job because the theatre
accommodated 1700 people and the audience changed hourly. I was also responsible for health and safety, customer service and looking after guests with special needs.

‘I learned a lot about crowd management and customer service and I was given special training on working with disabled children. This was an area that I particularly enjoyed, and I would like to work with disabled people in the future. I also volunteered for Disney’s ‘Give Kids the World’ programme which I found very rewarding.