(left to right) Jessica Presuto and Beth Gard

Once Beth Gard and Jessica Presuto took their first event planning course at Rider, they knew they had discovered their true passion.

The May 2007 Rider graduates gained event planning insight from hands-on experiences both in and out of the classroom. At Rider, they took a variety of courses offered through the University’s event planning and production minor, coordinated by Dr. A.J. Moore, assistant professor of communication and journalism. The minor was launched for the first time last year.

Both Gard ’07, a journalism major with a specialization in event planning, and Presuto ’07, a communication/radio and television major, have already landed their first industry jobs: Gard is an event production planner for Details of I Do Wedding and Event Consultants, a full-service event planning company based in Princeton, N.J. Presuto is a meeting planner for Advanced Health Media (AHM), LLC, Union, N.J., known throughout the world of pharmaceuticals as the leading supplier of technology solutions for compliant pharmaceutical meetings, speaker programs and health care professional interactions.

Gard credits Moore for showing her the nuts and bolts of the profession, as well as communication faculty members Dr. Ebo Bosah, Shawn Kildea, and Dr. Graham McKinley; Communication Department Chair Dr. Jonathan Millen; and Rider’s Office of Career Services for their guidance and support.

“From day one, I was put in the shoes of an event planner,” said Gard. “It was difficult coordinating schedules and handling on and off campus events, but I thrived on that. For a class assignment, I interviewed a planner at Details of I Do and was intrigued by what she did. Months later after my class was over, she e-mailed me asking if I was interested in working with her. I went to her office for an interview and she hired me.”

At the company, Gard has assisted in all aspects of wedding planning to help ensure that the entire affair meets expectations. “I like playing a major part in making the bride’s and groom’s day perfect,” said Gard, who works weekends for the company. “Regardless of how small the task may seem, every detail is very important. I also love to deal with the unexpected situations. It keeps me on my toes.”

As an avid fan of event planning shows on the Style Network, TLC, and WEtv, Gard knows that nail-biting challenges come as part of the territory. In fact, she has experienced a few. She recalls one wedding where the bride and groom were two hours late, several guests showed up without seats planned for them, the best man forgot an important gift, part of the cake crumbled and someone broke a table centerpiece. “I dealt with it and the couple seemed happy the entire night. I helped solve each problem as it came up.”

Gard has also worked as an intern for Greater Media Radio (Magic 98.3) in Somerset, N.J. In this capacity, she helped coordinate and design the station’s promotions, which have included Women Who Make Magic, an event celebrating women in the community who have made contributions toward the betterment of others, and the Ladies Day on the Green at the Forsgate Country Club in Monroe, N.J. “Although I am most interested in wedding and party planning, preparing for corporate and business functions also interests me,” she said.

In addition to spending her weekends working for Details of I Do, this fall, Gard is taking graduate courses at the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies (SCILS) at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.

Presuto did not minor in event planning. By the time the event planning minor was established, she had already declared theatre as her minor. Presuto, however, decided to take all of the classes involved in the communications side of the event planning minor, including public relations, event planning and publicity methods.

Prior to taking her first event planning course, her internships in the promotions departments at 97.5 FM The Hawk and 94.5 WPST piqued her interest in event planning. “I liked working at the radio stations, and I loved the promotion of events so I decided to take an event planning class at Rider. Needless to say, I loved it,” she said.

While at Rider, Dr. Moore recommended Presuto for an internship in the admission office. Working along side Marianne Kollar, associate director of admission, she gained further insight into planning and executing details for various events. In addition to Moore and Kollar, she also views communication professor, Dr. Barry Janes and Communication Department Chair Jonathan Millen as her mentors.

“I felt very confident when I graduated from Rider that I had enough experience to be successful in a career as an event planner,” Presuto said. “This was really true when I started training for the job and I found myself saying, ‘I remember learning this at Rider!’ I can proudly say that I am actually applying things that I learned in school.”

Pharmaceutical companies hire her employer, Advanced Health Media, to create software for them and to plan their Speaker Programs, which involve doctors discussing the company’s products and their ramifications with other healthcare professionals. One of Presuto’s main responsibilities is to ensure that the pharmaceutical companies comply with the rules set forth by the federal government and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). She also assists pharmaceutical representatives in the planning of their meetings, which runs the gamut from arranging for food and beverages, audio visual elements and invitations.

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