At the same time I am a little nervous. I am confident that all of my experiences in the past has prepared me well for this opportunity but it is always hard trying to learn new ways of doing things and obviously the events Discovery does are so diverse that there will be events I have never had experience with before. Well, my manager came and picked me up on the first day and helped me receive my new badge. There is A LOT of security at the Discovery building and in order to get in and get around you have to have a badge to scan for the doors to unlock.
It is really cool and you feel really important when you scan your badge and the mini doors just open for you. The security guards are very helpful and friendly and it is nice to walk into the building and see their smiling faces every morning. After getting my badge, my manager Caitlyn took me around and introduced me to many of the people that I will work closely with this summer. I couldn't believe how nice and friendly everyone was. I know they are all super busy but each person stopped what they were doing to meet me and talk to me. I am so excited to work with them all!! Then Caitlyn took me to my desk!
She had office supplies all ready for me along with a Discovery bag full of fun little items from all of the different networks... including a Shark Week DVD! On my first day I spent time setting up my passwords, e-mail, and phone. Within 30 seconds of being on the job I already broke my file cabinet... luckily I am handy and I was able to fix it before anyone saw! I will be working on a MAC this summer which is different than the PC I am used to working on. I used a MAC for one semester when I was taking a technology class but that is it, so I will have a little bit of a learning curve when using all of the different programs that I am used to working in with my PC.
On my second day of the job, Discovery Communications had their annual John Hendricks Innovation Awards. At this event different members of the company were honored for their innovative ideas and contributions to the company. As the new intern I had a little "intern initiation" in which I become Chompy the shark for the event! I have never wore a costume like this before so now I can cross it off my bucket list! As people walked into the awards ceremony, they walked in on a blue carpet and were greeted by Big Foot and Chompy (ME!). It was funny to see how people reacted when seeing Chompy and I got A TON of picture requests! I even took a picture with the owner of Discovery Communications John Hendricks.
When the awards show started I was able to go back and change into my "normal" work clothes and then attend the event. When the awards were over all of the attendees received a free lunch in which I helped facilitate the crowds. Done with my first event!
This week I sat down with my manager, Caitlyn, and talked about goals and opportunities I will have this summer. She is amazing! She is really easy to talk to, fun, and extremely helpful in learning "the ways" around the office. She is also very knowledgeable about the events industry as a whole and I can tell I am going to learn so much from her. It is relieving that everyone on the Global Events team in Discovery wants to see me grow and is willing to help me. Everyone welcomed me with open arms :)
I worked on a wide range of different little projects this week that helped me learn more about the company and the Global Events Department. Some fun highlights of the things I worked on this week include:
-Finding venues in Los Angeles for a pre-show viewing for a new show that will be aired on the Science Channel. I started putting together a proposal packet with all of the venues I have researched and contacted with pictures, accommodations, prices, etc. I never thought I would be looking to plan an event at the same venue that the Academy Awards were held!
-Compiling and contacting food vendors for an event to be held at Union Beach, New Jersey, for the 4th of July. Union Beach was hit by Hurricane Sandy and they won a contest through one of our networks, Destination America, for a 4th of July celebration and fireworks show. I will be working more closely with this event in the next couple of weeks helping with several parts of this event including preparing arrangements for the band.
-I was able to pre-view the centerpiece clip that will be played at The Cable Show, which will take place next week in DC. There will be over 10,000 attendees attending this annual trade show which makes it one of cable's biggest events. Discovery Communications video is a show stopper and will definitely be the highlight of the attendees. I started a project to record the different video clips that are used at events so that they are easier to find in the future.
To round the week off, today (Friday) Discovery Communication employees from around the world are taking a part of Impact Day in which employees do community service projects. It is inspiring to see large companies like Discovery willing to lose a day of productivity to better the communities around them. (Picture from last year). Interns did not participate in the event off-site like the other employees because of liability issues but we did make cards at the office!
After one week, I am still on cloud nine and I after actually working I love my job even more!
As for the rest of my day today, it doesn't look so bright. It is rainy and yucky outside with the tropical storm that hit Florida making its way up here. Living in a bigger city I think there is a lot more germs I am being exposed to than I am used to and I woke up feeling awful with a sore throat and not being able to breath. I had a whole day planned that has now turned into a day of staying in to try to get better so I can get over this bug so it doesn't ruin any more of my days!
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