By Chelsea Platt '13
Thanks to her summer internship, Andrea Cole ’13 went from an aspiring wedding planner to an employed assistant in sales before she will receive her diploma from Siena College in May 2013. Cole interned with Angelo Mazzone, a professional in the catering business in the Albany area, and participated in Mazzone’s weekly meetings that discussed the week’s and their off-premise catering events.
Cole, a marketing major, contributed to the marketing efforts of Mazzone’s new division, Prime Business Dining. She used the skills obtained through her major to create advertisements that were displayed in cafes and dining halls at companies such as Global Foundries, AYCO, and Golub. She was involved in the logistics of the different events which included ordering food, beverage and supplies. “We would go through each event from the smallest detail in order to make the bigger picture perfect for the client,” Cole said.
After meetings were done in the morning, sometimes they had to brainstorm a specific type of dish or dessert for a particular event. Cole helped out with the giveaways that Mazzone provided for the Tour de Cure in Saratoga over the summer. “We thought that having a low sugar and low fat strawberry shortcake shaped like a heart would be perfect to symbolize the event.,” she said.
During her internship, Cole found her real passion: becoming a wedding planner. Mazzone gave her the opportunity to craft weddings from the planning stage to the day of execution. She worked behind the scenes with top bridal managers to ensure that weddings from Lake George, N.Y. to Schenectady were successful.
“I fulfilled my required hours for my internship by the beginning of July. I continued to put in the work with Angelo, in hopes of proving myself for a job for when I was finished with college,” she said.
In mid-July, Cole received an offer from the company’s Vice President of Marketing for an assistant sales position at the Hilton Garden Inn. The hotel recently formed a partnership with Mazzone Hospitality.
“I have gained so much insight into the hospitality industry just in the past five months. I truly did not believe that internships could turn into careers this easily, but if you put forth the time and effort, it is well worth the payoff,” Cole said.
While many of her classmates will be job hunting in the spring, Cole’s tenacity will allow her to check another item off of her to-do list.
