Alumni Spotlight is a website series that highlights College of Hospitality, Retail, & Sport Management graduates.

Ashley Elliott, a 2002 graduate of the College, grew up in Lancaster, SC, and has been a gamecock fan her entire life. "Saturdays were spent cheering on the Gamecocks,"Ashley says. "I don't think I ever really had a choice on where I was going to college. I always knew I would be a Gamecock."

Similarly, Ashley remembers always wanting to plan parties for her friends and creating surprise birthday parties for her parents when she was younger. "I always had a passion for taking a vision for an event and bringing it to life." That passion led her to the School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management and to her career choice---event planning. "I have always been drawn to the hospitality industry,"Ashley says. "Being an event coordinator just seemed like the natural choice and HRTM was the best fit for that."

Ashley currently serves as Event Coordinator for The International Securities Exchange (ISE) in New York City. She says there is no "typical" day for her at ISE. "As the sole Event Corrdinator at ISE, no day is ever really the same. I am constantly moving from one event to the next." Ashley produces anywhere from 75 to 150 events a year, including conferences, special events, board meetings, education seminars, dinners, employee events, and media relation events. "On any given day you can find me researching venues, conducting site visits, composing Request For Proposals (RFPs), building and monitoring budgets, and creating overall design concepts for our events," she said.

"I recently coordinated the 28th Annual Options Industry Conference held April 29 through May 1, 2010, at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona. This conference was by far the largest and most challenging event in my career to date. I was responsible for coordinating all aspects of the conference. Just a few of my responsibilites were developing a theme and an overall design that incorporated the theme, building website, negotiating contracts, entertainment, decor, food and beverage, hotel room block, staffing, media relations, sponsorships, exhibtors, panels and topics, signage and budget.

Planning and running a conference of this size and cailber would normally take a conference production team of at least 10 people. With my knowledge and experience along with a team member from ISE marketing brand management and events intern, we were able to complete the most sucessful OIC Conference to date with only three people. We had to produce a memorable event on top of our normal daily duties. This conference took about two years to plan and execute," she said.

Ashley believes that the College gave her the knowledge she needs to work directly with hotel, resorts, event venues, and restaurants in her daily operations. "I received a well-rounded education--from learning about contracts and running a trade show, to see how a kitchen operates," she said. Ashley credits an elective in the College as one her most useful classes while at USC; the class required her to plan a University golf tournament with four other students from start to finish.

Prior to working at ISE, Ashley worked as Event Coordinator in the sponsorship department of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Breeders' Cup Limited. She also completed her internship with USC's College of Journalism and Continuing Education.

When asked if she had any advice for HRTM students, she says, "Get experience! Internships are the best way to gain experience for the real world. Don't settle on a single internship or summer practicum. Take advantage of what's out there. There are a lot of great summer programs available. I would also suggest getting experience in other fields in the hospitality industry. Go work in a restaurant or hotel to gain experience from the other side. As an event coordinator, you will work with these types of venues at some point. I would additionally suggest joining several different associations such as International Special Events Society and Meeting Professional Internationals. They have student memberships and can be a great networking tool."

Ashley has traveled a long way from home and from her college career in Columbia, SC, but says, "Although I live far away, I will never forget my amazing college experience and all the professors and friends that helped me get to where I am in my life today. I am truly grateful."