Delaney Cook’s first week on the job was when the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus came to UF. She said it was a challenging first event, but it an exciting one that taught her a lot.
The 22-year-old event management senior is a special events intern at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center and plays a major role in all of the center’s event planning.
One of Cook’s favorite events at the O’Connell Center was the one she organized mostly on her own — Volunteers for International Student Affairs (VISA) Talent Show – which featured different multicultural dance groups, she said.
Cook especially enjoys the fast turnover that comes with planning events.
“It takes weeks to plan, but it’s over in two hours,” she said. “I like setting everything up, going home, coming back and seeing a concert or a gala, and then going back (again), and it’s all gone.”
However, Cook said she did not always envision herself as an event planner.
“I came to UF thinking I wanted to be a surgeon,” she said.
Cook said it was scary to change her major to something so new that not very many people knew about.
“My parents were like, ‘so you want to be a party planner,’” she said.
Cook is happier with her event management major and would recommend it because it’s exciting, fun, and interactive, she said. It also allows her to work with people and be creative.
“In one of my classes, I got to plan a trip for 100 people to Antarctica,” Cook said. “For pre-med, I sat in chemistry.”
If she could plan any event she wanted, Cook said she would love to plan one of her friend’s weddings because it would be fun and exciting despite the pressure; another dream event would a large music festival featuring various artists.
Cook said her ultimate goal is to work in the operations department at Madison Square Garden because she loves New York.
“The most famous arena in the world seems like it would be a good place to be,” she said.