Event planning course returns!

Hands-on learning with Amy Martinelli

By: Veronica Ramirez

This Spring, the William and Grace Dial Center for Speech and Communication Studies reintroduces a course: Event Planning. The class, taught by Professor Amy Martinelli, Ph.D., was previously instructed by Kellie Roberts, Ph.D., during the 2006 and 2016 school years in preparation for the American Forensic Association National Speech Tournament. This year, the immersive course puts students at the heart of two major projects: Interstate Oratory Association Annual Speaking Contest – a persuasive speech tournament, and a long-awaited Speech and Debate Team Alumni Reunion – an event focused on fostering network connections between alumni and current team members.

As a communications-centered course, participants are typically business or journalism majors with communications minors. However, Martinelli emphasized that anyone who is interested in helping prepare for the events and learning about speaking is welcomed in the classroom. “This is about real-world experience—planning, organizing and executing events that matter,” Martinelli said. She explained that despite the official ONE.UF website mentioning a prerequisite of COM1000, the course is not necessary to join Event Planning. She encouraged “any friends who are interested” to join the class and participate in this immersive learning experience.

Because the course is not your traditional class, the structure looks a bit different. The first few weeks focus on learning about the organizations that these events are in partnership with and their purposes. The rest of the semester then turns toward the events themselves, including tasks like building a website, making social media posts for promotion and day-of planning.

Christian Williams, executive board member for the Speech and Debate Society, has been coached by Martinelli since first joining the team two years ago. Williams calls Martinelli “understanding, empathetic and an all-around great mentor” who helps students unlock their potential.

Although still in the works, Martinelli expressed the possibility of a Quest 3 course based on the framework of this class. “This is in a sense a pilot for that idea to see if we could create event planning classes for specific events that would turn into Quest 3 courses.” For anyone looking to learn more about communication and event planning, we encourage you to sign up!