Outside the Syllabus: From Serving Tables to Leading Conferences

How two on-campus jobs changed the trajectory of Elle Petrizzo’s career

Name and year: Elle Petrizzo ‘26

Job title and department: Student event planner, Conference & Event Services

College and major: Nolan School of Hotel Administration, Hotel Administration

Skills Focus: Career & Self-Development, Leadership, Professionalism

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) identifies eight core competencies that help students successfully launch their careers: critical thinking, teamwork, career and self-development, equity and inclusion, technology, communication, leadership, and professionalism. These competencies can be developed over time through a wide range of experiences, including jobs, internships, community service, student organizations, and coursework. They are relevant across industries and career paths. Cornell Career Services is committed to supporting students in building and strengthening these essential skills.

Outside the Syllabus is a series that highlights how students develop career-ready skills beyond the classroom—and how those experiences prepare them for life after college.

Scroll to the bottom to see how this student translated her on-campus job experience into strong, resume-ready bullet points.

Before she ever planned a conference, Elle Petrizzo ‘26 spent time serving food at them.

While working as a banquet server at the Statler Hotel, she noticed the timing, setup and coordination needed for everything to run smoothly. That curiosity led her to Conference and Event Services, a department at Cornell, where she’s worked as a student event planner for the last two years.

Petrizzo started the role supporting large campus events including Reunion and Commencement housing check-in, where families arrived tired from travel and lines built quickly. Learning to remain composed under pressure was one of her earliest lessons in professionalism.

“You don’t show your stress in front of people,” Petrizzo said. “Keep a calm face, keep smiling, keep your tone friendly. Behind the scenes, you can be as stressed as you want.”

Petrizzo didn’t always have the answer immediately, but she learned how to pause, identify who did, and keep communicating while working toward a solution; skills that connect well to her major, hotel administration.

During the academic year her role shifts toward supporting conferences and on-campus weddings. She spends time planning, drafting contracts, building event registration websites and helping manage logistics through platforms like Cvent. The work is detail-oriented and constantly evolving, requiring her to move between priorities while keeping overall timelines in mind.

As Petrizzo gained exposure to event planning through coursework and her campus job, she began thinking more about her career development and her plans started to shift.

“I was initially more interested in how hotels ran,” she said. “I thought I was going to be a general manager of a hotel when I got out of school. But now I think going into my future career, I’m going to stay in the event industry.”

Rather than waiting until after graduation to build her skills, she started looking for ways to develop them as a student employee. When she came across a job description that sparked her interest, she brought it to her supervisors and asked how she could get that type of experience.

“I sent them a position that I’m really interested in at the company that I’d like to work for post grad,” she said. “And they said, ‘We’ll start adding you on to things.’”

That conversation led to Petrizzo sitting in on client communications, assisting with early-stage inquiries, and contributing to contract drafting much earlier than she did in the past — work typically handled by full-time staff. In that role, she learned how to navigate difficult, yet necessary, conversations.

“Contracting is about working with clients to really meet their needs and ensure that whatever is feasible for an event – is also matching their vision for that specific event,” she said. “I’m making sure to balance both ends.”

Petrizzo has now jumped from supporting pieces of events to organizing the entire process; she’s currently leading the planning of an upcoming international research conference on campus. This responsibility includes working through contracting and campus logistics while shaping how the conference will come together for attendees.

Outside of her expected job duties, Petrizzo also took on a leadership role in shaping how student training was structured. After completing the program her first summer, she noticed it was heavily lecture-based and didn’t always help students visualize real situations. By collaborating with professional staff, she helped redesign the training to include more interactive, scenario-based learning.

“I talked with my supervisor and the rest of the team and told them I wanted to switch it up and make it a little bit more engaging, a little bit more transferable to the day-to-day operations,” she said.

Petrizzo said her time at Cornell has been shaped by the staff in Conference and Event Services, whose support encouraged her to grow.

“The team has really been supportive,” she said. “It’s really helped me just feel more confident in myself by having their support there.”

Skills Table