Meadow Event Park is a 331-acre, multi-purpose venue that is home to the State Fair of Virginia and other events. It’s also where you’ll find Randolph-Macon College student Alexis Boyd ’18, who is doing a three-month internship there. A business major and aspiring wedding coordinator, Boyd is learning what it takes to organize and plan a variety of happenings.

Staff from the EDGE, RMC’s career preparation program, helped Boyd secure the internship, and Marlene Pierson-Joliffe, vice president of operations for Meadow Event Park, is Boyd’s supervisor.

Multitasking
There is no such thing as a “typical” day for Boyd, who will graduate from RMC in December.

“I help recruit volunteers for the State Fair, which takes place in the fall; I was a server at a wine-tasting competition; and each week I post photos from weddings that having taken place at Meadow Event Park on our social-media pages,” she says. “I also give tours to brides-to-be, answer email inquiries and design flyers.”  Weekly staff meetings also keep Boyd on her toes.

“The skills that I learned at Randolph-Macon—how to prioritize and stay organized, for example—are put to use every day,” she says. “I’m constantly emailing, updating spreadsheets and talking to clients. It’s comparable to taking four classes and having to keep up with notes, homework and projects: I have to stay on top of a variety of things at one time.”

A New Perspective
Pierson-Joliffe, who benefited from mentorship early in her career, says, “It gives me great pleasure to partner with Randolph-Macon. Alexis brings a new perspective to our operation and in addition to teaching her on-the-ground skills, I mentor her in lessons that aren’t taught in a book. Patience, calmness when everything may not be going well, and respect for all clients, vendors and partners—even when they don’t always return that respect. We are fortunate to have Alexis on our team, and I’m particularly excited to have her experience the craziness of the build-up to opening day of the State Fair, and the exhaustion that comes with it!”

A Planner at Heart
Boyd has always wanted to be a wedding planner, and her experiences at RMC—including the leadership skills she learned as secretary of the Diversity Council—are bringing her closer to that goal. “My dream is to have a career in event planning,” says Boyd, the recipient of the George Anderson, Herbert Martin and Lettie Pate Whitehead scholarships. “I know that experience is the biggest key to excelling in this field, and my internship is vital to achieving my goal.”

RMC Internships = Real-World Experience
A vital part of the RMC experience is experiential learning. Internships offer a real-world setting for connecting academic learning with the workplace.

Internships allow students to explore a career path before committing to it; network, practice career skills, and expand learning beyond the classroom; discover interests and capabilities; and make confident choices about the future.