Hannah Thorne
Marketing & Customer Experience Manager, SMC Events
Bachelor of Arts in Event Management with minors in International Business and Strategy & Marketing
Being able to travel all over New Zealand for a range of events is amazing, says event management alumna Hannah Thorne who now works for SMC Events.
“Our events include the Fulton Hogan Mount Festival of Multisport, the Tauranga Half, the Weet-Bix Kids Tryathlon and the Aramex Kiwi Walk & Run Series, and I love networking and meeting so many different people in this industry. There’s so much thrill and adrenaline in seeing the things you’ve put the hard yards into come together, and seeing the athletes and participants loving it too.”
She loves the variety her work offers and enjoys drawing on all the skills she developed at university.
“Putting together my major in events with my minors in marketing and international business, I have extensive involvement in running the social media for multiple events, creating and sending email communications, working with new and existing sponsors, rebranding events, conducting a range of surveys, and looking after administrative and registration processes.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have been offered a great advanced role so soon, and it has allowed me to have a lot of say in things that we do for some of our events, including new brand colours, the logo design, the tone and feel of social media posts, or the registration and check-in systems.”
Finding her path
Hannah says she first became interested in events when she was in high school.
“I gained some event management experience through dance performance opportunities I had in Year 12 and 13, which stimulated my interest in the events sector and how I could take this further. When my high school ran a careers night, I saw a presentation about AUT, and it looked like a really cool place to further my education so I researched their events programme and attended their events-specific open night. All the paths events could take me down intrigued me, and the rest is history.”
She had plenty of highlights throughout her time studying at AUT.
“I really enjoyed how lively and interactive AUT was, and I made some great friendships with others in my degree. I developed a lot of confidence at AUT through working with a range of people, which has carried through to working in the events industry with a huge variety of people. The practice of presentations and discussions also helped me immensely for now pitching to and meeting with sponsors, as well as voicing opinions and thoughts.
“The event production course and workplace experience in my third year were what really opened my eyes to the event world in a super practical way. I learned so much by experiencing firsthand what goes into preparing and putting on an event, and putting my knowledge into practice with a professional company during my placement was incredible.”
Advice for other students
Hannah’s advice for other students is simple: keep an open mind.
“When I first started studying events, I was under the impression that I wanted to do concerts, festivals and gigs, however after experiencing events in the sporting and triathlon industry, it completely changed my views. I love working on sporting events.”
Make the most of networking opportunities, she adds.
“Take advantage of every opportunity provided to you and get into some volunteer work experience as soon as you can – it’s a great way to network and prove your skills for future employment.”
