It’s New Year’s Eve: hundreds of women in snow white gowns waltz around the room with men in black tie. You’re in the Great Hall at the sumptuous Hofburg Palace in Vienna. The air is filled with music from the orchestra, expensive perfume and expectation from the guests for the night ahead.
Does this sound like the kind of event you’d love to attend, or better still to make happen?
Foundation certificate graduate, Faban Fitsum, was working at the
Silvester Ball in Vienna only a couple of weeks ago.
What was it like, working at an imperial palace in Vienna?
“This was the first time I’ve ever spend New Year’s Eve abroad and also my first time travelling abroad alone. The event was so beautiful and the way all the guests danced so perfectly was amazing. It felt like a surreal dream!”
Faban’s role included working as a team to set out guidelines for the dance floor in each of the halls. As you can imagine, a former imperial palace has a number of different halls and there were operatic performances, dance performances and dancing by the guests all happening in different places. Once the party began, Faban was hosting and guiding guests around the mammoth venue to ensure their evening went smoothly.
What inspired you most about the experience?
Although the beauty of the event and the fabulous dancing blew Faban away, the thing she was most impressed with was the way the event producer managed the volunteers. This has really inspired her to think about her own aspirations as an event manager.
A huge event can’t happen without a team of people working together and led by a super organised event producer. They have to stay calm and communicate well so their team know what to do, regardless of last minute schedule changes, hundreds of dancers, language barriers and unpredictable guests.
Would you volunteer for the event again?
Yes! Faban has already asked the organisers if they need volunteers for next year and they’ve invited her back for 2016. This is a brilliant example of how volunteering builds up your list of contacts as an event professional. Of course Faban’s ambition is to work her way up to being an event producer on spectacular events like this. As she has already impressed Vienna society we’re sure she’ll achieve her goal.
If, like Faban, you’re ambitious about you career and want to get stuck into volunteering at jaw-dropping events then have a look at our
courses. You can start at the level that is right for you and as a student you’ll automatically be part of our network of volunteers. Why don’t you sign up for our next
open evening to get more information?
Featured image by
Moritz Schmaltz used under a
Creative Commons 2.0 license.
