Presidents, chief operating officers, owners of Fortune 500 companies – we all know who really run these successful businesses — the administrative assistants. The secret behind every successful executive is the office administrative professional. The person that fields the phone calls, types up the letters, and files the documents. The person that schedules the appointments, keeps track of the schedules, and assists the boss with keeping affairs in order so that person can run the company. It’s a big, demanding, and sometimes thankless job, but those who do it well know deep down that these companies would be lost without them.

Marion Technical College prepares these high-powered office administration professionals in our Office Information Technology Program (OIS 2220 Office Technology Capstone). Every year, Professor Christy Culver picks an event that her Office Information classes need to organize. This year, MTC played host to the 2008 Office Administration Faculty Event. Faculty from 13 Ohio colleges and universities were on campus, and as a class project, the Office Information capstone class handled the event planning. Not only was this a big job with lots of hands-on experience, but also an exciting and fun event for the class to team up and work together.

The class received the task and the deadline from their instructor and then the planning began. They worked as a team to decide what needed to be accomplished. A task list was crucial in the class’s plan of attack. There was a lot to be done, but these students were up to the challenge. Among the list of items to be completed were lining up the caterer, facilities, and signage. Then there was the PowerPoint presentation, name tags, registration packets, and gift bags. These students were also mindful enough to think about the thank you letters that would need to be mailed after the event. The list goes on, but this is just a sampling of items that go into planning an event.

Finally, the details were in order and the big day arrived. The students were running around finishing up last minute touches, but the stress did not get to them. “We just worked as a team. We all knew what our role was and who was in charge of what. We trusted that each classmate would implement their part of the event – and we all did! It was a lot of fun,” Liz Grafmiller said of the event. All of the students agreed that teamwork and trust played a big part in the event’s success. Classmate Steve Nemeth added, “Teamwork was very important. If one person didn’t complete a task, the event would have suffered.”

The team did run into to a couple of snags that day. “The caterer ran a little later than expected. That was a little stressful because it was something that was out of our control. Luckily, no one really knew he was late, but us,” Katie Billeg stated about the small setback.

“I didn’t realize how much time planning an event involved until this project. It was a great experience. We learned time management, organization, and how to work with other people. It was stressful, but lots of fun,” Liz Grafmiller adds about the class project.

At MTC, we train our students to work under the pressures of a high-paced, high-powered environment in our Office Information program. To learn more about how you can receive the skills that it takes to manage those who manage others, go to www.mtc.edu or call 740-389-4636.

Pictured Above: Members of the Office Technology Capstone class brainstorming during class and participating in the 2008 Office Administration Faculty Event that they planned as part of a class project.