Long before Ola Akinwumi obtained her Master's in Communication Management from Simmons, she gained experience in planning, curating, and producing events for non-profit organizations. Here she explains how a Simmons education helped expand her skills set. She now has her own business and works for ArtsBoston.
Tell me about the work you do.
I call myself a connector at large. I love the idea of bringing people together with concepts that are meaningful, so I started a business called AfroDesiaCity. This is an event marketing company that focuses on productions, specifically live entertainment such as concerts and theater. I've done things like wine tastings and a fall music series, putting local artists on platforms. Right now, I am working for a lot of organizations that are looking for BIPOC individuals to be part of their arts programming.
I also work for ArtsBoston, an arts service organization where I find creative ways to engage the membership. We have over 150 members and 400+ BIPOC arts administrators.
How did you become interested in working in these areas?
During my undergraduate years at the University of New Hampshire, I joined some student organizations to become acquainted with what was going on in our student body. My first real position was as the event coordinator for the Black Student Union. At one of our events they gave me the script of a speech to announce an artist, which ended up really helping me with public speaking. This experience helped me fall in love with events and arts production.
When I graduated, I decided to plan my first wine tasting, and I invited a lot of friends and family to watch me present. Then I started to work for a housing development with an arts and culture center, and I ran that for seven years. All of these early experiences prepared me to become an event curator.
How did Simmons prepare you to become a leader in your field?
I waited a while before I started graduate school. I started to think about what would make me become a better communicator and producer. A friend of mine mentioned that Simmons has a great Communications Management master's program. I realized that this could help me achieve new things. Through this program, I learned crisis management, statistics, advocacy work, and how to write an article. The Simmons program definitely helped me.
Were there any particular Simmons faculty members who inspired you?
Professor Richard Cravatts was very interesting, and he was running the program at the time. Also, the staff at the Career Education Center gave me invaluable advice on how to tailor my resume and cover letter, and I still use this template today.
Do you have any advice for current students wanting to pursue a similar path?
Be open-minded and make yourself aware of online technology. Take advantage of any jobs or internships that can help elevate yourself. In other words, attend networking events, seminars, job fairs, and anything to put yourself out there. The rejections and trials are a win-win to take hard lessons for success. If you want to be an event planner, then you need to see what events look like. Pose questions to relevant CEOs, executives, and professionals and identify stakeholders who can sponsor you. Don't be afraid to go out there and push yourself.