Guest blogger Lindsay Ostin, CMU senior
Yesterday was an exciting day in Orlando for CMU MPI! Craig Zubke took the stage and presented the MPI Rise Award for Young Professional Achievement to recent Central Michigan University (CMU) graduate, Courtney Stanley for creating networking and hands-on opportunities for CMU Event Management students. Not 10 feet from the stage was Lindsay Ostin and Jordan Hathaway in reserved seating armed with smart phones and video cameras capturing the moment and tweeting the details to hundreds of followers! The RISE Award is the single highest award a student can receive as recognition in the meeting/events industry.
After the ceremony, Lindsay emailed saying the RISE awards ceremony was incredible. She further added, “I think everyone fell in love with Courtney when she said she was looking for a job.” After the ceremony, Jordan and Lindsay attended the Global Emerging Leaders Town Hall to learn about how MPI wants to appeal to young professionals followed by a session about networking which focused on tips and hints to make the most of your networking experiences.
This is Day 3 for CMU students who traveled from Michigan to attend this major conference. Since their arrival in Orlando they have been rushing from one event to another and this morning was no exception. It started with a session on MPI Membership, immediately followed by the World Education Congress opening session. Keynote speakers included the director of the Orlando CVB and MPI’s CEO, followed by Simon Sinek who spoke about the “why?”. Lindsay had some down time and decided to spend it in the “Hive” – aka the technology hub – picking the brains of PSAV Presentation Service employees and finding out what they do. Next was the “Blitz” which was a brief networking opportunity in the convention center stocked with hors d’ourves where she met up with Sherry Cummins (Michigan MPI) and joined her and other members of MMPI for dinner at Seasons 52. After dinner, they attended “The Big Deal” which was Vegas in Orlando live band and all!
From what I can tell, it looks like they keep running into other future leaders and meeting people from around the world. Lindsay says Courtney’s award really made people more aware of the Central Michigan University MPI student club and with every question, they are taking the opportunity to open more doors for more “Beyond Hands On” projects.
Aside from all the excitement, Lindsay admits the days are long and hot, and her feet are achy and blistered from wearing heels, but, (she adds), “man oh man, is this experience totally worth it!” As the day ended, she had only one request, “Lorie, please remind everyone to keep following @CMUMPI on Twitter.”
LOL ~ That, I can do! :>)
