By Caitlin Hoffman
SC Contributing Writer
On Thursday, April 15 Morgan Kingsbauer, a senior exercise science major, won an interview competition for a job as a fitness center manager.
The competition was part of “Do You Want to be Hired?” Career Development organized the event, and it was cosponsored by Exercise Science, Business Management and Recreation Services Management.
Kingsbauer faced off against three other candidates in front of six panel judges and an audience of approximately 160 students. Although the competition was not geared for a real job, the practice could surely pay off.
“Initially I was very nervous and had no idea what to expect. I had never interviewed in front of hundreds of people before! Overall I thought the event was a great learning experience,” said Kingsbauer.
She continued, “Getting feedback from both the students and the hiring panel, as well as getting practice answering interview questions, has definitely helped prepare me for future interviews.”
To make the event successful, students from the Recreation Services Management Program’s Event Planning class had two months to plan every detail with support from the Career Development Center.
“The Recreation Services Department is the leading force in special event planning at the university,” said Shane, one of the Special Event Planning students.
Bri McMichael, Jessi Esposito, and Sam Grim, Dr. Seid’s Special Event Planning students, agreed they pushed through a variety of challenges and created a fun and successful event. They were able to apply information learned in class to a real-life situation.
As one of the panel judges, Dr. Seid witnessed the conjoined effort and ideas his students contributed to the show; he believes they were effective with their goal of educating students with a model of a live interview.
“The students who attended the event were able to better understand the interview process as well as what interviewers are looking for from prospective employees,” said Dr. Seid.
Although this was the show’s first appearance, those involved anticipate a recurrence sometime in the future.
There is a chance that Special Event Planning students will play a major part in the show’s future in upcoming years.
Email Caitlin at:
choffman17@live.esu.edu