Recreation and Event Management students learn from alumni guest speakers

During the fall 2022 semester, Central Michigan University alumni visited Lori Irwin’s Introduction to Recreation and Event Management Class.

The alumni, like Michelle Elliott, pictured below, shared stories on how they made it from the classrooms at Finch Fieldhouse, to where they are at today. 

Students raved about the guest speakers.

“Having alumni that have been in our positions, have gone through the same experiences and then came back to share their experiences is really nice,” says Alexis Wood, a junior, who was a student in the class.

“The class opened up my eyes to see that I actually want to go into the event world,” freshman Reagan Brengman said. “The guest speakers helped me to see the different aspects of what you can go into because there are so many different jobs in recreation and event management.”

Over the semester, 10 alumni guest speakers visited, with their employment ranging from Boston Garden, SAFE Management, Detroit City Distillery, Central Michigan University and many others. Jenna Steeb, a freshman majoring in recreation and event management, says she left each class feeling inspired about her future in the industry.

“I wanted to hear from them on what they did in college that prepared them for their careers,” Steeb said, adding: “Finding out early on (about the path to take) will definitely set me up down the road.”