Seeing as this is my last week at the Greater Phoenix CVB and that I am graduating this month, I need to figure out what my next step is because I am an international student and so am only eligible to stay in the U.S. until the end of August and then I will need to leave the country! The only way I will be able to legally stay in the U.S. is to apply for Optional Practical Training (OPT).
OPT is a benefit from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, allowing international students in F-1 status to gain off-campus work experience in their field of study before or after completion of studies for a maximum of 12 months. What this allows me to do is find a job or an internship in the tourism industry and stay in Arizona for another 12 months. I have already taken steps to apply so I’m just hoping that my application gets approved! If you would like to know more information about this benefit, click on this link:
http://www.asu.edu/international/opt.html
Truly, what I would like to do is continue to work at the CVB or a similar type organization because I believe that it is a great place to network and kick-start a successful career in the tourism and travel industry. Other than that I would not overrule a chance to go to grad school at ASU but as of right now, I have had a taste of the working world and that has made me eager to get started in the industry, start making some money, and more importantly, be more involved in our community and contribute to its booming development.
Congrats ASU Grad Class of 2009!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Site Visit and New Member letters
Hey everybody!
Hope your final reports are coming along nicely and that you are all as excited about graduation as I am! I went to Hayden library yesterday for the first time this semester and I was kind of sad that it was probably my last time at that library, where I spent many countless hours studying for classes throughout my college years.
Anyway today has been interesting. We started off the day with our weekly department meeting at 10 am and our director Kimberly, who just got back from Europe, briefed us on her sales mission and progress in the European market, which has fallen a little bit since last year. She said that every person she spoke to could not get enough of Phoenix and that they were planning to visit sometime soon and so need our help to create itineraries for them in order to better experience our destination. After our meeting, I was given a list of our newest members and I prepared and sent out new member letters to thank them for joining us and making sure that they are aware of our services.
Right before lunch, we were invited to go see a newly renovated wellness facility that offers yoga, massages, and other therapy related programs. Located on the SW corner of 2nd Street and Garfield (1 block South of Roosevelt) in Downtown Phoenix, “Just Breathe: a wellness sanctuary” is an eco-friendly wellness facility with 6 zen-like massage rooms, a fitness center, and other rooms where they host Yoga and Pilates classes. Whether you are looking for a specialty massage to relax or a yoga session to get in touch with your inner self, “Just Breathe” is a great place to just get away form everyday stress and just relax. For more information, check out http://www.justbreathewellness.com/!
Hope your final reports are coming along nicely and that you are all as excited about graduation as I am! I went to Hayden library yesterday for the first time this semester and I was kind of sad that it was probably my last time at that library, where I spent many countless hours studying for classes throughout my college years.
Anyway today has been interesting. We started off the day with our weekly department meeting at 10 am and our director Kimberly, who just got back from Europe, briefed us on her sales mission and progress in the European market, which has fallen a little bit since last year. She said that every person she spoke to could not get enough of Phoenix and that they were planning to visit sometime soon and so need our help to create itineraries for them in order to better experience our destination. After our meeting, I was given a list of our newest members and I prepared and sent out new member letters to thank them for joining us and making sure that they are aware of our services.
Right before lunch, we were invited to go see a newly renovated wellness facility that offers yoga, massages, and other therapy related programs. Located on the SW corner of 2nd Street and Garfield (1 block South of Roosevelt) in Downtown Phoenix, “Just Breathe: a wellness sanctuary” is an eco-friendly wellness facility with 6 zen-like massage rooms, a fitness center, and other rooms where they host Yoga and Pilates classes. Whether you are looking for a specialty massage to relax or a yoga session to get in touch with your inner self, “Just Breathe” is a great place to just get away form everyday stress and just relax. For more information, check out http://www.justbreathewellness.com/!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Last week and interviews
Hey everyone! Starting today, I have 6 days left for my internship and then its graduation time!! So exciting, I can't believe that I am so close to being done with college forever, it's actually kind of scary the more I think about it...
Anyway today I finished my last couple of interviews with some of the Greater Phoenix CVB Executives and I must say I was surprised that most of them have been in the industry for over 35 years but the funny thing is that none of them actually studied tourism in college! Our Director of Communications graduated with a bachelor in business administration, our Vice President of Visitor Marketing & Community Development graduated with a bachelor in political science, and our Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing graduated with a bachelor in music!
Although their career paths are not very similar to mine, I still learnt so much from interviewing the CVB executives because they each explained their career paths and how they got to where they are today and the recurring theme from all my interviews seemed to be networking. All the executives kept mentioning how they were able to get their jobs through networking with people in the industry and how important it is to “put yourself out there” and constantly market yourself in order to be ready for any opportunities available. Meeting people and making contacts is essential in the tourism field and it can determine the amount of success one can have in this industry.
Other great pieces of advice I collected from my interviews include:
· Following your passion
· Professionalism & Appearance
· Academic Competency
· Willingness to learn, and
· Participating in many local events, being involved with your community.
Overall, I believe that it is very beneficial and that there is much to learn from interviewing the people you work with during your internship because not only do you get to know their background and find out how they succeeded in the industry, but also they get to know you as a person, not just as the intern, and you never know, they can provide you with that opportunity you are looking or hoping for! Best of luck with your interviews!
Anyway today I finished my last couple of interviews with some of the Greater Phoenix CVB Executives and I must say I was surprised that most of them have been in the industry for over 35 years but the funny thing is that none of them actually studied tourism in college! Our Director of Communications graduated with a bachelor in business administration, our Vice President of Visitor Marketing & Community Development graduated with a bachelor in political science, and our Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing graduated with a bachelor in music!
Although their career paths are not very similar to mine, I still learnt so much from interviewing the CVB executives because they each explained their career paths and how they got to where they are today and the recurring theme from all my interviews seemed to be networking. All the executives kept mentioning how they were able to get their jobs through networking with people in the industry and how important it is to “put yourself out there” and constantly market yourself in order to be ready for any opportunities available. Meeting people and making contacts is essential in the tourism field and it can determine the amount of success one can have in this industry.
Other great pieces of advice I collected from my interviews include:
· Following your passion
· Professionalism & Appearance
· Academic Competency
· Willingness to learn, and
· Participating in many local events, being involved with your community.
Overall, I believe that it is very beneficial and that there is much to learn from interviewing the people you work with during your internship because not only do you get to know their background and find out how they succeeded in the industry, but also they get to know you as a person, not just as the intern, and you never know, they can provide you with that opportunity you are looking or hoping for! Best of luck with your interviews!
What a busy week!
So last week was a hectic one! My managers have two huge sales missions coming up in May and I was responsible for making sure that they had all their collateral ready to go!
The first sales mission is the AAA sales mission in Southern California and this one was a big one! I was responsible for stuffing, packaging, and shipping out all the collateral from the CVB and other participating properties, such as the Hyatt Regency, the Sheraton, the Westin Kierland, and other luxury properties. I made sure that all the collateral, gifts, and amenities were all sent to the hotels that my managers were staying at and at the Call Center, where they were scheduled to give a presentation about Phoenix and its participating properties to the Southern California AAA travel agents. Overall, we stuffed about 330 gift bags and I was in charge of packaging and shipping out the boxes, which all together were about 30 (It took me all day Wednesday and Thursday to do this!)
The second sales mission coming up is the annual International Pow Wow tradeshow which is the “largest generator of Visit USA travel with more than $4 billion worth of future business expected to be booked this year” (http://www.tia.org/powwow/index.html) and it is held in Miami, from May 16 – 20, 2009. Again, I was responsible for packaging and shipping out all the collateral required for the show and this time, I even helped my managers with car rental bookings, hotel reservations, and even finding and making a reservation at a restaurant where they could host their client event at!
Thankfully, I received confirmation today that all the boxes were delivered to their respective destinations and that my managers were able to get their car rentals to begin their first sales mission. It was a frantic week but a satisfactory one since everything went smoothly and successfully.
The first sales mission is the AAA sales mission in Southern California and this one was a big one! I was responsible for stuffing, packaging, and shipping out all the collateral from the CVB and other participating properties, such as the Hyatt Regency, the Sheraton, the Westin Kierland, and other luxury properties. I made sure that all the collateral, gifts, and amenities were all sent to the hotels that my managers were staying at and at the Call Center, where they were scheduled to give a presentation about Phoenix and its participating properties to the Southern California AAA travel agents. Overall, we stuffed about 330 gift bags and I was in charge of packaging and shipping out the boxes, which all together were about 30 (It took me all day Wednesday and Thursday to do this!)
The second sales mission coming up is the annual International Pow Wow tradeshow which is the “largest generator of Visit USA travel with more than $4 billion worth of future business expected to be booked this year” (http://www.tia.org/powwow/index.html) and it is held in Miami, from May 16 – 20, 2009. Again, I was responsible for packaging and shipping out all the collateral required for the show and this time, I even helped my managers with car rental bookings, hotel reservations, and even finding and making a reservation at a restaurant where they could host their client event at!
Thankfully, I received confirmation today that all the boxes were delivered to their respective destinations and that my managers were able to get their car rentals to begin their first sales mission. It was a frantic week but a satisfactory one since everything went smoothly and successfully.
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