Future Event Planner

Gillian Lopez

Management Career Consultant

Career Services Center

It’s my third year at UC Merced and in three semesters I will be embarking on my path towards a business career. I’m uncertain as to what job is out there for me after my collegiate experience comes to an end, but just recently I developed this plan to help aid my career journey and diminish any unnecessary fears that would stop me from achieving my goals. I have never felt more confident about what I will be doing after graduation until now. My career plan entails exploring passion, researching, and gaining valuable experience.

Over the years, I have discovered that I am very passionate about event planning. It excites me when I am presented with the opportunity to plan, manage, and host an event for my sorority, job, or even my family and friends. I discovered my love for event planning back in high school during my four years in student government, and the activities that I am involved in now on campus only reassured my passion.  Event planning embodies many aspects of business that I find fun and interesting such as marketing, finance, consulting, management and so forth.  The list is quite diverse, and I love how event planning is a creative business field, which is something that I value in a work environment. My dream and goal is to become a social entrepreneur in event planning.  Until then I continue to research and find work experience that will help me reach my goal.

I am currently researching for summer internship opportunities and I have currently applied to two that are located near home. One company is looking for a business development associate who carries an entrepreneur spirit, while the other is looking for a public relations/event planning intern. I was so happy to apply to these jobs because it can be difficult to find opportunities that match my passion of interest. It would be great to get an internship at either one of these companies because I would gain a better understanding of entrepreneurship, business, and event planning. Finding a job is never easy; I’m constantly researching applying, and modifying my resume.

I also thought about going to graduate school directly after college, but after thorough research and good advice from a few mentors, I realized that graduate school is not for me after college. In fact many schools that I was interested in stated that they prefer students who have at least a few years of full-time work experience. People have daunted me about how hard it will be to go back to school once the income flows, but little do they know how committed I am to graduate school and receiving an even larger salary after completing my MBA.

I am a planner at heart, and this career plan has prevented me from stressing out about the unknown. My current career journey entails learning and exploring my true passion. I want to ensure that I am happy with my choice of career because it is of priority and importance.