Final Post

My internship has been the most rewarding time, I may have been away from my husband for the past 94 plus days and still have another 59 until I see him. It has been worth it though. I have gotten to do some pretty awesome things, I have learned a whole new side to the industry in which I work in. I did not get to design much and I played with flowers like never but it didn't bother as much as I thought it would, I think overall it has been because they have a set style and our lead designer hasn't been around to help teach me. I loved getting to be a big part of events though, I love organizing and helping set up parties.

We have a really good system at MA, we have 5 departments our Management team, Our Wedding Planner, The design team, the Pull and Prep team and the logistics team. We all have certain duties and we all have daily tasks and objectives. Even within each department we all break down and have different task and assignments both weekly and daily and everything is subject to change depending on the week.

The Objective of the company is very clear, we need to be inviting and work well together and be clean and fast. We work well as a company and the management relays back to the labor clearly and we all communicate, we communicate often about everything it is really impressive to be honest. We have started to have monthly meetings and we talk about the good, the bad, the ugly and the positive.

We have sheets/ order forms that we all get copies of when we are doing the event that way everyone knows what is needed and what is going where and when. When it comes to schedules we only get set agendas when there is a lot going on or a big weekend and it is a minute by minute play of who goes where and what vehicle they need to take. We get busy during football season and we need to make sure that we know who goes to what event and that there is a vehicle for each place, it gets crazy and no one can take a personal vehicle on campus but the owner so we are lucky to have girls in the front to plan out our weekends.

Our most profitable part of the business is our rental side we have began to do a lot more in the retail side of events and it has gotten us some big gigs and it has been wonderful and it happens to be the part of the company that is growing the most.

When we are going to set ups we have to make sure that we wear the company shirt, and they prefer us to be in black pants. When we are just at the store we can wear anything that is comfortable, how great is it that I can work somewhere that I can wear sweat pants or leggings when I want to. I can also dress up when I feel like.

I think that I was able to obtain the objectives I had for myself, I wanted to be able to see the business and I think that it was rewarding in a sense that I have learned a lot. I feel like I have been with the company for a year and I have been there for 10 weeks or so.

I think that being able to be a part of the company has been the most valuable. I can't really pinpoint one thing. I think that the most valuable skill has been the muscle that I have gained while working at MA. I haven't been given much responsibility, I am responsible on Mondays and Tuesdays that all of the containers used over the weekend or the past week. I work on cleaning them and putting them away or getting them ready to use again  the next week. I have gotten to meet some very important people who work with Notre Dame and I got to meet Board of Trustees members the last week.

I have been fortunate to have gained a great working relationship with all of the people that I work with. I have made friends and it makes it so easy to go to work when you like the people you around.

I feel like I was prepared for my internship, I knew flowers and I knew how to do enough in the industry that helped me excel at MA. I think that the program as a whole helped me I don't think that one was more helpful than the others. I don't think that I learned any particular skills and I don't know what would have been helpful to have gained.

Week of October 10th

Whelp, being an away game week meant things were pretty slowish around here in a way. Monday I cleaned all of the containers used and got most of them put away, cleaned the cooler and that was my whole day. I was given Tuesday off and then on Wednesday I helped clean more containers that were found and brought in while I was out on Tuesday. I also folded 250 napkins bistro style.Thursday I got to put together some votive holders for the wedding this weekend and I then got to work with our wedding planner get some new client folders organized. It was interesting to be doing something different which both the past days were. I liked it. Tomorrow I know I will be cleaning 100 10.5 inch cylinders that we will be using next week. The week ended up being really good and going by so quickly. I cleaned for three days and Thursday was the usual thursday night dinner set up and then I stayed for the tear down. Friday was a day full of setting up and dropping off it starts early in the morning and then saturday GAME DAY!!!!  Well I had a remaining 103 hours, This week was all about Breast Cancer, Notre Dame Vs. The NAVY and We had a group go to Layfette to do a few events at Purdue University, having half the crew gone meant a little more work for the rest of us, which was fine. We had to make sure they we 200% ready to go because the events were 2 plus hours away and there was no room for error and we had to make sure to give a GREAT impression so we can be requested to come back. Everything is going great. Even though we had a busy week we were able to get ahead for next week and that is always nice because it is the rival game against USC. I have been offered a job with the company after my 103 hours and I could not be happier.

Week of the 27th

I have completed 272 hours!!! This is really exciting and I feel like it has gone by so quickly. The rest of the 130 hours is going to just fly by, that is less than 21 days now. This past week we did the same old same old, I got things ready to go for the Notre Dame vs. U of Mass. We had a fairly easy week because all the extra stuff we had to go along with it was fairly simple and we have gotten UND. down pat. After working a long hard week I got the opportunity to go to Ann Arbor Michigan to see the BYU-Michigan game you know the one where we got STOMPED on..oh well it was a great time with family and a much needed break away from the normal football weekend. Next week is an away game so we are going to take advantage of that and get things ready for the 2 weddings and the following game week, because we are adding Purdue into the mix too.

Week of the 22nd

Notre Dame vs. Georgia Tech.

We seem to have a routine. Mondays we clean the cooler out and process the little bit of floral we get in, I also clean buckets and clean containers. Tuesdays we process some more and we begin to get a game plan for the week. Wednesdays are making orders due Thursday and Thursday for Friday and Friday for Saturday and Monday. I got to design on Friday, I was so excited I was able to take fresh baby ferns and re-pot them and then I also took and re-potted Ivy and placed the jar into a lantern and stung it up with LED stringed lights. I also spray painted lots of gold monstera leaves. I had a great time. I really love my internship. I think that we do some cool things and football season is my favorite so doing both has been wonderful.

Week of Sept 14th

After a whirl-wind of a week last week and considering that we have an away game we had a much slower week. We all took advantage of the schedule and we got major organizing and cleaning done. I continued to do pull for the week to come and we had a lot to catch up in a way because our head designer decided it was a good idea to have her baby boy 3 weeks early. The week was still great and I got to do some little designing but nothing big. The week was slow so I got the rare opportunity to spend the weekend with my family and get a head start on homework.

Week of Sept.7th

This week was awesome, football weeks are super tiring and very fast paced. The whole week was filled with pulling and prepping and getting ready for the 1st home game. We have several different events going on we have a event in the South dinning hall where we have 60 stone containers getting pit, spider mums and carnations. They are getting a huge candy bar and lots of other large decorations. The press box event is getting a giant carnation ball and then small baby button balls.
We had a western themed tent and those got gold bottles with floral, horse shoes and also had a candy bar. Then we had a family reunion that we made mason jars filled with floral for and set up lots of tables and chairs. We had the Thursday night dinner with Father John, we did a lot "farm to table" type arrangements we have eco flowers and kale and all sorts of herbs with no real floral at all. Thursday night dinner arrangements get reused for a breakfast on friday mornings. Thursday I spent the day finishing up some last minute pulls and then I got to help set-up Thursday night dinner. Friday was another day full of set ups and drop offs. Saturday was even crazier, it started with loading the trucks for all of the different campus events and making sure everyone was on the same page and that we were ready to go. After the days festivities I was assigned the tear down for that night. I was so tired at the end of the day but I felt like it was all worth it to be able to be part of something so neat. We do so many behind the scenes things for the school and it is so sur-real.

Week 5

This week I cleaned all of the weekend candy dishes, and then put them away. Then on Monday I was asked to clean and reorganize the back floral design storage area. I spent 4 hours weeding through containers and giving everything a place and a home. I also went through our spray paints and everyone has been really impressed with the work on that area. I then spent the day wiring roses and putting away the rest of the weekend rentals. On Tuesday I helped process the flowers. Wednesday I helped process more flowers and then I started to pull containers and clean them because FOOTBALL is starting up next week and we have our first home game on Friday GO TEXAS!!! The more  I get done this week the less stressful next week will be. I am going on a wedding set up on Friday and I will update later.

Week 4

This week was a good week. I was so grateful that I was able to work everyday, we had a wedding from the weekend that had to be taken down and things that needed put away. I was able to go on a set-up actually went on two throughout the week, these next couple of weeks we are getting ready for the football season. We have lots of containers that needed to be pulled and we needed to clean about 50 candy containers for a carnival themed party on the Campus, we helped set up the party and that was a little intense because up until the last minute our client was changing some of the details which wasn't a big deal and we want to make the client happy. The candy bar that we set up was awesome and full of candy that included whirly pops, swedish fish, chocolate covered raisins and so much more. We had to work with the wind and we had to make adjustments as we were setting up and it was a good learning experience. I am getting more comfortable and I am slowly getting a routine and I am gaining more responsibility, I got to go on my 1st solo set up with another guy and unfortunately I made a mistake and we both forgot to pack something  and we had to go back to MA and the event an extra time. We are now going to be more prepared the next time we go out. I didn't work the weekend because I got the opportunity to attend the cultural celebration for the Indianapolis Temple. I was very helpful throughout the week and I helped make sure that everything was ready for the wedding and I cleaned many many glass cylinders and made sure things were packed well.

Week 3

This was the week was week 3 the 10th-15th we had to clean up from the weekend wedding. I was a little bummed out that I was unable to help on the saturday set up but I was able to set up a wonderful wedding at the South Bend dinning hall at Notre Dame. On Monday and Tuesday I spent the day pulling all the votives and vases for the wedding that I helped set up on Friday. I have become a professional glass cleaner and dish washer. I don't mind though we all start out at different places and we all have to work our way up. I did get to work with some floral and we set up and prepared the containers that were going to be  using for the weekend events. It was another slow week I had Wednesday and Thursday off. When I went in on Friday is when I got to go help set up, this wedding was being set up by a couple of companies we provided the linens and the decor, like the candles and the flowers and the drapes on the ceilings. We also went and placed 160 votives around the room along the perimeter and they looked great.

Week 2

This week was a slower week, we didn't have much for weddings so I unfortunately didn't get to work much. Monday I cleaned a lot of vases and containers that had been used throughout the past couple of weeks. I also spent the day driving around for 6 hours back and forth from the Bennington Boat show that we helped stage. Tuesday I took a day for myself and my family we went to Six Flags Great America; it is my candy land and I wish I could live there. Wednesday I went back to MA where I spent the day pulling things for the one event that we had that weekend. I am really loving this company I really like the atmosphere and the people I work with are all so nice. We have probably no more than 20 employees and we have contracted help for big events. Everyone is so eager to help one another and we all work as a team, we each have specific jobs but not one is any more or less important than the other. I was then off until Monday of week 3.

This week was the 3-8th

Week 1

This week was a hectic week- I started by pulling for a wedding, this means that I took product that had been rented out of our inventory so it can be used for the event. Once the items are collected into one central location, it is then cleaned and checked off of the list and label so it can get to the proper wedding or event. This first week we had 6 total weddings and 2 other events happening. I got to help process a good amount of flowers and I learned there methods and procedures for doing so. I have never seen or heard of dipping hyds. into water head first and also bells. Later in the week I also worked with Jelly balls and they are so cool, these clear beads make it look like petals or flowers are suspend/floating in water.

Tuesday I went to help set up at a boat show. We were providing anything from the show tent to the plants around the resort, we set up umbrellas and lots of furniture. This was all done for the Bennington company. Bennington got everything customized and we provided it all for them. I loved getting to be behind the scenes of such an event.

Wednesday and Thursday I continued to pull out and clean our inventory. I also got to process flowers that came in. I also got the rare opportunity to be able to pull and then complete the floral that went with what I had pulled, so I pulled out the vases for the wedding and then I put the floral in vase as well and it was one less thing that the floral girls had to deal with.

Friday is BRIDE day- I got to help do two different set ups the first one was just decorating the table tops and placing the floral at the church. The second wedding was a huge thing and we worked from 5 pm until 2:30 am it was great we set up 50 tables and placed 400+ chairs I then got to go around and tie the decorative ties on the chairs. We also placed chargers and napkins and the place cards. The men that were with us did the lighting and the draping of fabric over the dance floor. The tables all got 18 different kinds of halos and votive candles. The whole process was just that a process.