The final hurdle: A successful event

As an intern at Curtin University, I was fortunate enough to be apart of the annual John Curtin Medals Ceremony for 2015. Wow, was this an amazing experience! Each year the ceremony awards individuals for their outstanding contributions to the community within their chosen field. One of the 2015 recipients was Kaye Brand, the founder of Fibromyalgia Western Australia Inc.

After witnessing the event in its entirety, I could have never anticipated how special and emotionally charged the ceremony was going to be. It was nothing like I had ever experienced before. It was refreshing but also a huge learning curve for me as I plan my future in events management.

The preparation that went into the event was quite stressful and daunting, but after seeing it all come together it was definitely worth it. For the event I was involved in the formation of the slide show, the order of proceedings and the briefing documentation. From this process, I have learnt you can never be too organised or too prepared because in events management something can go wrong in the blink of an eye.

What surprised me the most about this event, was not the set up, the perfect flower arrangement or the catering selection. In fact, it was the minor details that made the event for me. As students we are often too caught up in having the perfect order of proceedings that we forget about the ‘nitty gritty’ elements that make an event so special and memorable for those involved. Personally it was the celebration of cultural diversity and aboriginal history that made the ceremony so memorable for me.

As apart of the formal proceedings the events department incorporated a ‘Welcome to Country’. The ‘Welcome to Country’, usually preformed by Simon Forrest, is an aboriginal blessing that acknowledges the traditional owners of the land in which Curtin Bentley is sited. Not sure what I mean? Check out the link below.

http://about.curtin.edu.au/welcome/traditional-aboriginal-welcome/

I have never seen this in an event before, but it was definitely an eye opener and added a nice touch to the formalities. I’m very thankful that I got to work on such an amazing and unique event. I will take a lot away from this experience as I begin my career in events management. I hope everyone else is enjoying their internship placements as much as me!