A Day in the Life of a Meeting & Event Professional

Are you driven to land a position in one of the country’s top-ranked hospitality markets? Did you know, according to the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, Atlanta is considered the fourth-best city for meetings and events? Additionally, Salary.com cited Meeting & Event Planning as the fourth-fastest growing job in America with an expected 43.7% increase in jobs for a median income of $55,812 by 2020.

Meet Marion Welsh
By day, Marion serves as the national sales manager for the Cobb Galleria Centre and the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre — a position she’s held for nearly two decades. By night, she joins a group of talented instructors to lead our Meeting & Event Management Certificate program. We caught up with her to explore the insights of a day in the life of a meeting & event professional.

What is a typical day like working in the meeting & event industry?
A typical day is always filled with new opportunities and challenges. Meetings and conventions are gatherings of people who come together for a specific goal or purpose. People in general and the meetings/events they attend all have unique ways of achieving their goals. The characteristics of a typical day as a planner and/or event specialist are usually the same, unique and ever changing!

What are the most important aspects of the knowledge you’ve obtained in the real world, and how are they applied to training your students?
Listening. As meeting and event specialists, we are in the business of accommodating and facilitating the needs of guests and customers. We have to master the art of listening and communicating with others.

Share what your teaching role is in our Meeting & Event Management certificate program.
My goal, through the program, is to bring real career experiences to the classroom. To educate, from real experience, the steps involved in selecting a meeting venue/destination.

In addition, we provide the students with an opportunity to visit a venue and interact with venue personnel and management.

What do students gain from our Meeting & Event Management Certificate program that they wouldn’t in other programs?
The unique experience of instruction conducted by real meeting and event specialists.

You Can Do It!
Marion is joined by an outstanding team of professionals in the hospitality industry to help teach our Meeting & Event Management program. At KSU, you will truly learn from the best in order to succeed.

In only a few weeks, you can acquire the skills to excel in an industry that is always booming! This course is eligible for VA Education Benefits and WIOA Funding.