Moraine Valley students give back, network

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Updated: March 6, 2012 8:00AM

Through active participation in the Professional Convention Management Association’s meetings and charity events, students in Moraine Valley Community College’s Meeting Planner program are getting hands-on experience while meeting potential employers.

Students washed mini-blinds during the Summer Clean Up for this year’s charity, Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly, and they assisted with the Service In Sync project for “The Off the Street Club,” a Boys & Girls Club in Chicago’s neediest, highest crime neighborhood.

More recently, students in the Special Events class helped with the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival Parade in Chicago, and Travel Planning students took a three-hour Segway tour in Chicago and are planning a trip to Springfield to visit the legislature and see the Lincoln Museum. Meeting Planner students are assisting the college’s foundation with planning and execution of its annual gala fundraiser in March 2012.

“The students are thrilled with the opportunity the Professional Convention Management Association gives them to leave the classroom and mingle with real meeting industry professionals,” said Mary Beth Walsh, professor of Travel Business Management and Meeting Planning and Special Events.

Moraine Valley offers a 62-credit hour Associate of Applied Science degree in Travel Business Management and a 30-credit hour Meeting Planner certificate. Students in these programs benefit from guest speakers such as James Sheahan, the former director of Chicago’s Mayor’s Office of Special Events. Graduates of the program have been employed by The Field Museum, Red Cross, Southwest Airlines, the American Library Association, the Palmer House Hilton and more.