My SoBe, Pt. 2

In the weeks leading up to last month’s Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival, Panthers like Shena Corrado worked tirelessly behind the scenes to  prep for “SoBe.” They kept us posted in a series of Blue & Gold Blogs. In this entry, Corrado shares what it was like to work as a student associate on the 2010 festival.

Shena Corrado (left) hopes she will be invited back to participate in the 2011 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival "to, at least, consult."

Well, the 2010 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival has come and gone.

On Feb. 28, as I walked off of the beach for the last time, I had goosebumps and bittersweet feelings. It felt amazing that it was all over and everything we had set out to accomplish was successfully completed. However, it was also a sad moment thinking that this would be the last time I walked off the site of SoBe.

I have grown quite attached to the position and the students that worked the festival – with some I have even formed great friendships.

The four-day event was an amazing experience. From Day 1 we hit the ground running as I, along with my team, was responsible for registering students at all of the events. I mainly worked at the Grand Tasting Village, Burger Bash and BubbleQ events – the ones directly on the beach.

As soon as the students were checked in, I attached myself to my radio and prepared for the calls. Most of the calls were from student leaders to inform me that unfortunately their students did not show up for their responsibilities. So I had to replace them with a SWAT student – a student on the reserve team who agreed to show up and patiently wait until needed to fill in for an open position.

This year, we had some truly amazing SWAT participants. There was an overwhelming response of students willing to show up and assist with any responsibilities thrown their way. I even had two students who were unable to participate due to injuries and chose to assist my team in the registration tent instead of opting out of the festival. I was really proud of the turnout and the dedication the students showed this year. They really did an outstanding job and made my job much easier.

There were not many challenges this year my team and I were not able to handle because the students were rock stars. I would say the biggest challenge was filling the spots of students that could not make it to their assigned shifts. However, Lourdes Balepogi, an independent contractor hired to produce the student orientations for each event, and Vanessa Rajnish, a member of the student associate management team, really stepped up to the plate to ensure that those spots were filled.

SoBe has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Words honestly cannot express how grateful I am to have been offered the opportunity to participate as the student associate coordinator. I had such a blast working with all of the students and getting to hear about some of their background stories. A couple of the students even had the celebrity chefs sign a student associate T-shirt and then framed it for me.

I really enjoyed every minute of my job this year. It’s so hard to say goodbye. I can only hope that they invite me back next year to, at least, consult – although I am confident that my successor will do an amazing job!

As for what is next for me – that remains a mystery. I am hoping to stay involved in event production and, more specifically, event staffing. I have found a passion for managing volunteers of special events and I would like to think I have a knack for it as well.

Until then, I would really love a vacation!