Special Events Planning – Destination Tourism
Graduated 2004
After graduating from high school, Heather Dahmer studied makeup artistry and began working in the beauty industry.
But she soon realized that she needed something more stable and secure. "It was a very hit-and-miss industry," Dahmer explains. "I'd have work one week and nothing the next."
So she began searching for a new career. Her mentor, who she met through a family connection, was an event planner for an investors group.
"I'd always been interested in her career. So I sat down with her and asked her what she did. She guided me in this direction," Dahmer recalls.
In her research of college programs, she came across Special Events Planning - Destination Tourism, offered by George Brown College. The January start-up fit her schedule perfectly so she enrolled. "It was a great experience. The teachers were extremely friendly and helpful," Dahmer says. "It's the type of industry where you need the hands-on experience. The teachers tried to really immerse us in that. They always said 'get out and volunteer and be a part of the associations'." Dahmer took that lesson and ran with it.
She was the first in her class to join Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and International Special Events Education Society (ISES). Her commitment to MPI recently earned her a nomination for New Member of the Year. Eventually, Dahmer hopes to advance to the board of directors for the Toronto chapter.
"I am very much an advocate of getting involved. I've taken a lot from those associations and gained a lot of experience from them," she says. "I wouldn't have known (about them) had it not been for George Brown."
Dahmer says she also learned a great deal from her internship with the Wynford Group. She was asked to continue working there on a contract basis and following that contract, they connected her to one of their clients.
Since graduating from George Brown, Dahmer has worked for CIBC Wood Gundy and CIBC's sponsorship department and is now working at Decor & Mor Inc.
She uses much of what she learned at George Brown in her daily work. "I still keep my textbook with me," she says. "Sometimes you need to flip through and refresh yourself."
For those interested in working in the event industry, Dahmer recommends they take the Special Events Planning program. "You have to start with an education. I don't think it's fair for people to just walk in and say 'I'm a party planner.' It's not just party planning; there's a lot more to it," she explains, adding that the hours can be long and sometimes weekends get swallowed up by work. "I do it because I love it — that's what keeps me in the industry."&
