Emma Petri
Emma Petri plans to pursue event management through race production or concert operations. When she isn’t studying, Emma likes hanging out with her friends or napping.
Get to know Emma
- Major: Event management
- Class: Senior
- Hometown: Davenport, Iowa (Scott County)
- Career goal: Race production or concert operations
- Clubs/activities: CHS Ambassadors
- Awards/honors: ICHIRE Johnson & Wales Hospitality & Tourism Case Study Competition, 3rd place
- Favorite place on campus: Memorial Union
- Most influential ISU mentor: Adrienne Rule
- Favorite class: DANCE 270, Dance Appreciation
- Why Iowa State: gut feeling from visiting campus
Emma Petri discovers passion while away from home
Emma Petri has made the most of her college experience by putting herself out there.
Emma came to Iowa State University as a hospitality management major, but unsure where she would go from here. In true adventurer style, she decided to take action to find out what interested her.
Emma completed a national student exchange program during the fall semester of her sophomore year through National Student Exchange. She traveled from Iowa to Nevada to study at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), where she discovered that she had an interest in event planning.
“While I was in UNLV, I took a concert operations class. We learned about working in concerts and sporting events, and I was like, ‘Wow, this is what I want to do,’” Emma said.
When Emma came back to Ames after her semester in Las Vegas, she switched her major to event management. She now has a clear idea of what path she wants to take with her career, and she’s enjoyed seeing how open her options are in the industry while figuring it out.
“If you have an interest in event management, odds are that whatever your interests are, there’s an opportunity for you,” she said.
Emma’s interests are in sports and concert organization. Her dream career would be working in race production after graduation — a faction of event management she’s already experienced through one of the three internships she’s completed while at Iowa State.
During her internship with RipRoar, a race planning organization that specializes in triathlons, Emma aided in facilitating half-marathons, 25k and 5k runs, and youth triathlons. She said it was one of the best summers of her life because she gained experience in a division of events that excited her.
“It’s a lot of hard work, but I just think it’s a fun environment of people running the race, and every race is different,” Emma said.
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