Scott Mifsud '03

Event Manager,
GET U.S. Destination Event Management

q: What do you do?

a: Manage all aspects of clients' meetings including ground transportation, dinners and off-site entertainment. My responsibilities include proposals, budgets, programming, managing client expectations, and billing. Ninety percent of our clients are pharmaceutical companies because our U.K.-based parent company, Universal Procon, specializes in health care events.

q: What's your favorite part of the job?

a: Traveling and doing something different every day. Instead of being city-oriented, GET U.S. travels with our clients and I've recently been working on planning events in Seattle, Hawaii and Phoenix. One day I could be sitting in the Orlando office making calls, and the next I could be learning the Chicago airport to find the best way to greet and direct guests.

q: What's the greatest challenge?

a: Also, traveling and doing something different every day. Previously I owned my own business and managed events in Panama, Rome and Austria all within a three week period. It's rewarding, but also requires flexibility and lots of energy.

q: Do you stay in touch with any other UCF hospitality alums?

a: Dave Buckalew '05, Danielle Derecola '03, Chris Fletcher '97, Ariel Gonzalez '07 and Erica Hanners '03.

q: Outside work...you're most likely to be seen?

a: In Thornton Park, at Universal CityWalk or at home catching up with my DVR.

q: Your biggest accomplishment since graduating, outside your career?

a: Meeting my girlfriend, a wedding planner.

q: How did UCF prepare you for what you do?

a: It gave me a foundation of industry knowledge, and taught me the ability to continue learning.

q: How could the hospitality program have been better?

a: The new school wasn't open yet so we were located in the Classroom Building on Main Campus. Most of our classes were held in two rooms, and I had four courses with Dr. Deborah Breiter and four with Duncan Dickson. For me the set-up worked -- thank goodness I liked these two professors -- and I understand that now there's a large number of faculty, classrooms and course offerings.

q: A UCF memory?

a: Homecoming my senior year. Also, traveling to California with Professional Convention Management Association. It was the first year ever of the PCMA student chapter and we raised approximately $10,000 in sponsorships to pay for our trip. I also enjoyed the Hospitality Association banquets, back when it was the only student organization.

q: Favorite meal in Orlando?

a: Dinner at JIKO at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

q: On your iPod?

a: A mix including the Barenaked Ladies, Jack Johnson, Counting Crows, John Meyer, Metallic and the Dave Matthews Band.

q: Little known fact about you?

a: I was a marketing major my first two years.