The live events space offers a wealth of lucrative career opportunities. Even so, most people are unaware that these opportunities even exist.
This was the impetus for the LEO Fellows program, an exclusive experiential apprenticeship program for communications students at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. The brainchild of Cindy Brewer, founder and principal at Memphis-based corporate event production company LEO Events, the LEO Fellows program creates a springboard for students directly into experiential marketing.
Brewer, a UT College of Communication and Information graduate herself, sought to illuminate this career path option for CCI students, which prompted her and her business partners, Kent Underwood and Kevin Brewer, to collectively make a four-year financial commitment to establish the LEO Events Fellows Program in conjunction with UTK.
Designed to prepare participating students for successful careers in corporate event management, the LEO Fellows program allows fellows to gain valuable expertise in today's industry. The LEO Fellows Program expands upon the topics students explore in various communications classes through professional development sessions and experiential opportunities at LEO Events-produced client events.
"Fellows will have the opportunity to go on site and work shows with us throughout the year, and we will be on campus a couple of times a year assisting with the program," Brewer said, also noting that LEO Events will arrange relevant guest speakers for specific UT classes as well as one-on-one lab time for students during which they will work with directly experienced LEO team members.
The program is currently in full swing, and three fellows worked alongside the LEO Events team at AutoZone's National Sales Meeting in Memphis, Tenn., earlier this fall. As a facilitator of the LEO Fellows program, Katie Leonard, talent and people manager at LEO, said she is proud to immerse students from UTK's CCI and EHHS in hands-on, real-world events experiences.
"As [the fellows] work alongside our industry professionals onsite, engaging in various roles across production, meeting services, and event operations, we have the opportunity to provide mentorship and guidance as they navigate the intricacies of live events for clients like AutoZone, Sherwin-Williams, and Walmart, equipping them with the skills and insights they need for successful careers in the industry," Leonard said.
By the end of their onsite experience, this group of LEO Fellows had gotten an intimate look at the inner workings of a large-scale corporate event—while also being entrenched in the show process, making real-time contributions to the work. "My favorite part about being onsite was seeing all the different roles integrated," current LEO Fellow and marketing major Gabby Padilla said. "This experience helped solidify my future career expectations."
To learn more about the LEO Fellows program, contact the LEO Events team at [email protected].
