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#SoaringToSucces: Kristin Chivers '19

Elmira, NY (07/13/2018) — This week's #SoaringToSuccess story spotlights Kristin Chivers '19. Kristin is a business administration major, with a Spanish minor. Her story highlights her recent experience as facility operations intern with the professional hockey organization, the Chicago Blackhawks.

Let's hear about this experience from Kristin herself...

"Experience is everything when it comes to the sports and entertainment industry. The experience begins the moment a customer walks through the front door and ends when they exit, including every detail in between. After completing Professor Wolfe's "Sports, Entertainment, and Media Marketing" course, I knew THAT was the industry that I wanted to be in. I was granted an opportunity for a summer internship at the MB Ice Arena: Chicago Blackhawks Community Rink, the official practice and training facility of the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team. The facility opened in November 2017, so I was eager to learn about the overall operation of a brand-new facility tied so close with a professional sports team. This internship was an enriching experience where I received training in all areas of facility operation, and there was no better place to be than the MB Ice Arena.

I truly feel I have grasped new concepts over the course of my internship. First, I learned the importance of quality customer service and the effect it can have on the overall visit. Face-to-face interaction with customers and clients is a skill that I have developed, and each interaction helped build a solid relationship and business partnership with the facility. I gained this experience by acting as a customer service associate, executing point-of-sale transactions, and becoming an expert on the computer software system. Second, I explored areas of my concentration (marketing) such as Hootsuite, a program that manages social media posts and allows for better organization of social media communications. I also was exposed to email marketing by writing a weekly newsletter about upcoming events and programs that would be sent to a database of arena customers. Another project I was involved in created a database of hotels and restaurants with contact information to act as a recommendation platform for visiting clients and teams. Third, I explored new areas of interest like event planning B2B style by communicating with businesses and corporations to create, organize, and execute a personalized event.

The most important aspect of my internship experience is that I was connected to the sport that I love, hockey. I had the opportunity to teach aspiring young hockey players skills that I cherish being taught as a little girl in the Chicago area. It was exciting to be surrounded by the sport as well as being involved with the new Chicago Pro Hockey League that brought professional hockey to Chicago hockey fans over the summer. Being trained to sharpen skates and the basic operation of the Zamboni separate the learning experience of this internship from others. Above all, it was a treasure to work in an environment with such passionate and committed individuals of the MB Ice Arena and Chicago Blackhawks that shape a culture of success every day. I look forward to applying skills from this internship experience in my final year at Elmira and in my future career upon graduating!"

Media Attachments

Kristin Chivers ’19, is a business administration major with a Spanish minor, who recently is a facility operations intern with the Chicago Blackhawks.

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