The Travel Institute, just like many other organizations, has numerous projects going on simultaneously. Quite of few projects have tedious and repetitive tasks that need to be completed on a daily basis. Normally we would be assigning these duties to different staff members, but we are fortunate to have a summer intern this year – a lifesaver! We are grateful to have a helping hand who is ready to help with data entry, proofing and other to dos.

Abby Werner, a student at Missouri State University will be helping The Travel Institute this summer on various projects. Her major is Hospitality with a minor in Geotourism. She will be working closely with our director of sales, Patty Noonan, CTC, who also lives in MO. Abby will help with all types of administrative duties relating to membership, sales, webinar coordination and also database management. The staff at The Travel Institute couldn’t be more pleased – help and from someone who is eager to learn how our organization works and other travel industry tidbits.

Chatting with Abby on our weekly staff meetings made me recall my internship when I was majoring in Travel and Tourism Management at Lasell College in Newton, MA. I spent two full days a week as an intern at Great International Travel in Needham, MA. This was about 15 years ago and I still remember my responsibilities and interaction with travel consultants. I was fascinated about how fast paced their office was and took my duties very seriously to really help make their jobs a bit easier! In just one day working there, I could tell how hard these travel professionals worked. I liked watching and hearing them coordinate both leisure and corporate travel plans. They worked long hours but enjoyed it so much. I really appreciated their willingness to help prepare me with the basics!

I hope your company or travel agency is fortunate enough to have an intern this summer. It is truly a benefit for both parties and a great way to have someone from the outside take a look at your day to day operations and maybe suggest ideas for improvement! Be that mentor that you may have been looking for at one time. That guidance and advice will surely be appreciated as they begin or contemplate a career in the travel industry. Don’t forget to pass on that The Travel Institute is a great resource for industry news and training throughout their career. They can sign up for our free Hot Tip Tuesday newsletter and become a friend on Facebook.