Professor Tierney teaches for our Hospitality & Tourism Management Program here at Isenberg, specifically classes geared toward event planning. During this meeting, Professor Tierney spoke about her career path in event planning and how she got to her position today.

Tierney’s career path led her to travel all around the world. She began in Ireland as a graduate student but eventually ended up working in California, Hong Kong, Australia, and Denmark taking on many different roles.

Direct Management Group
Film Producer
Hong Kong Tourism Board
Australian Tourist Commission
Visit Denmark
Tumlare
Worldwide Events

What is Event Planning? Tierney describes Event Planning as planning an event from conception to clean up, coordinating all aspects of event, and making sure everyone has fun. The skills needed for event planning include

Excellent time management skills
Passion and enthusiasm
Interpersonal skills
Flexibility
Energy
Eye for detail

Tierney also provided us with recommendations with how to work towards a career in event planning. Event planning takes a lot of creativity, but also adaptability when things don’t always go as planned. Some of her suggestions include:

Get involved
Network
Join a club or association
Try different jobs/internships
Try different hobbies
Challenge yourself
Continue to learn
Listen

If you have any questions about event planning or want to learn more from Professor Tierney, feel free to reach out to her at etierney@isenberg.umass.edu!