Connecting my experiences with ePortfolios, leadership, and event management in relation to COMM 323

As a student in my final semester, one of the experiences that I have found to be of great value within my Communication minor is the use of an ePortfolio for demonstrating myself professionally to prospective graduate schools and employers. In addition to being incorporated within many of my COMM courses, my ePortfolio was the foundation for developing more focused pages within my IDS ePortfolio course and how I have demonstrated my skills within Old Dominion University’s (ODU) student program called LeADERS. I found it exceedingly easy to set up and to utilize the functions within the platform because it has an almost PowerPoint-feel in that the developer is operating with a text box experience for building pages rather than html. Ultimately, the largest barrier is narrowing down which artifacts to include for demonstrating myself in the most positive light.

Electronic Portfolios allow students to feel confident in their professional presence online and I have chosen to reference it as part of my graduate school application essay earlier this year. I am proud of my site and am highly motivated to continue to curate it as a resource for demonstrating myself professionally. Here is a link to my latest changes. Additionally, I feel that ePortfolios allow for a deeper learning experience within academia for connecting with other aspects of our lives. For more information about my research on the value of ePortfolios, check out my Undergraduate Research Symposium presentation on the topic.

Leadership and events management have been two important aspects in my life in the last twenty years. I am incredibly pleased that I am finishing my last semester in a course such as this. Though I have experienced good and bad leadership, I had a wonderful experience at my first full-time job at a non-profit Legal Aid Office. The organization was extremely fast paced, our jobs were specific, and we had clear instructions on what our roles were. The director scheduled weekly staff meetings for education and collaboration, celebrated our successes, and encouraged us to have a voice in the process. We felt inspired and empowered to do our best and by allowing us opportunities to get to know each other in social settings, we felt like we were a part of a family.

Having the right kind of leadership and creating cohesion between staff can also impact the field of events management. Approximately a year ago I attended the “Black Dog Arts Festival” at Chateau Morrissette, a winery in Floyd Virginia. Though the event was generally enjoyable, the food service and music organization seemed lacking. Because we arrived a bit later than the start of the event, we were not given a program. As a result, my husband and I never truly felt we were on the correct schedule to enjoy the music in its entirety. There were apparently two different stages facing opposite locations. I understand the organizers’ need to have two different areas for music because of the extensive setup requirements of a symphony invited to perform, but I did not understand why the auxiliary location did not offer seating of its own. My resolution is very simply to create two areas near each other for attendees to enjoy. The mainstage drew the attention of the attendees and people tended to face their seating toward the main area. The auxiliary stage was behind them which means that the experience was likely missed by some.

The food service was in stark contrast to the venue’s theme. A food delivery truck and card tables just seemed suggested that decision to offer a food was an afterthought. The food was almost fast-food quality with burgers and sandwiches. This winery has a restaurant as well as food service in the winery. Why not offer some abbreviated version of the experience from the restaurant, using their own staff, and a select few items from the restaurant? At the very least, the food truck should be moved, and table clothes added to the service tables. These were problems I would not ask organizers to fix in the moment; however, it demonstrated to me that leadership may not have allowed permanent staff the ability participate and be engaged with some of the organization. Cohesion was lacking as the offerings there (ex: music, the food truck, the wine station, and permanent staff, etc.) seemed quite segmented. Next time, I would suggest bringing the winery teams together for helping to organize an event that is exclusive to the property.

I look forward to my time in COMM 323 for bolstering my ePortfolio, leadership, and events management knowledge. Though I do not have specific questions regarding the experience, I am anxious for this course to bring to light some new ideas and concepts that will strengthen my skills.