Bethany Young on her internship year as the Commercial Events Executive at the Goldsmiths’ Centre
Bethany Young is currently studying for a BA (hons) in Event Management at The University of Greenwich. She recently joined the Commercial Events team on a one year internship during her placement year. In this blog post, we interview her for an insight into her day-to-day life working on commercial events.
Hi Bethany. Could you please tell us a little about yourself? What does the degree that you are studying for cover and how has it helped you in your role as Commercial Events Executive at the Goldsmiths’ Centre?
I’m still studying at The University of Greenwich and have just completed my second year; so I’m here at the Goldsmiths’ Centre to get some hands on experience within the industry. I was fortunate enough to be put in touch with the Centre through a contact, soon enough a vacancy popped up and I was lucky enough to be offered the job!
My degree tends to cover a lot of the theoretical side to events, with countless diagrams of the stages and depths to events – so working at the Goldsmiths’ Centre on a practical level has allowed it to sink in a lot more, and allowed me to think about events from a different perspective – something that no degree can teach you.
What is a typical day in the commercial events department at the Goldsmiths’ Centre for you?
There is no such thing as a typical day! We deal with a variety of things, from general enquiries, show rounds and managing the onsite events. This means that I can have days when I have little time at my desk due to the time needed to manage the events on an operational level, and others where I can concentrate on the administrative aspects of my role. With so much going on at the same time, events can be quite demanding but in a good way! Stress is probably my favourite part of the job as it keeps you on your toes!
The nature of events also means you’re never dealing with the same thing twice – we have a lot of interesting clients that want to do product and press launches so we have to organise and plan out the logistics for deliveries and dressing the rooms. In short, there is never a ‘typical’ day or event – and I love it.
What do you think are the most attractive qualities of the spaces that we have at the Goldsmiths’ Centre? Do you have a favourite space?
My favourite space would probably be the Atrium – this is only available for evening hire but shows off everything the Centre is about. It is really bright and modern, and has always got a beautiful exhibition on, which can be a great talking point for guests.
The best thing about the spaces is that they are so adaptable and act as a blank canvas for whatever clients have in mind, whether that’s corporate or the creatives in Clerkenwell, they can cater for everything.
What advice would you give to clients to help them in planning for their event with us?
Just think through how you would like the day to run and all of the smaller details – we want to be able to give you the best event, so the more information you give us the earlier on, the smoother the day will go.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
The team here at the Centre have been so welcoming and supportive, and that’s always a really important part to any job. I also love not knowing what the day ahead brings as each event that we house is so different. I love the variety.
Find out more about commercial events and venue hire at the Goldsmiths' Centre on our website here, or get in touch with Bethany and the events team directly by calling 020 7566 7699 or emailing events@goldsmiths-centre.org