Grad sets sail with cruise line
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| Melissa Slack |
After graduating from Grand Valley with a degree in theater, Mellissa Slack had plans to move to Chicago, but then, her ship came in.
“When I was looking for jobs on a theatrical website, one of those annoying pop-ups appeared, saying ‘book your cruise now,’ and I thought to myself, ‘forget about booking a cruise, why not book a job?’” she said.
Slack sent in her resume and cover letter to the Carnival Cruise Lines head office and within a week and a half received a phone call.
“We talked about my past experiences and my credentials, and by the end of the conversation he offered me a job,” she said. “I left for my first cruise four weeks later.”
Slack is a senior entertainment technician for Carnival Cruise Lines and supervises four other entertainment staff members. She handles the schedules, orders supplies, corresponds with the main office in Miami, posts weekly technical reports and works through any problems dealing with the production of shows.
“Basically, I do all of the management side of things,” Slack said.
She said that cabin fever is never a problem, since there is only one day out of the week where you cannot get off of the boat because you are at sea all day.
“These cruise ships are like floating cities,” she said. “They are so big that you can always find something to do. The days you are in port, you can get off the boat and go explore new places. You’ll be in the Bahamas one day, the Caribbean the next, and back in the States the following day. What’s not to love about that?”
Slack said the one drawback is she cannot see her family in Ostego, Michigan, as often as she would like. She misses the birthdays, special events and holidays with them. When she is on dry land between cruises, she often works as a stage manager in various theaters.
“I love to travel, and if I can find a job at another theater in another state that will pay me to live there for a month or two, all the better,” she said. “I hate being in one place for too long, so the theater profession is perfect for me. It allows me to travel a lot while still being able to make a living and survive. The theaters on land are not too different from the ship theaters.”
Slack credits her theater degree from Grand Valley for preparing her to work for Carnival Cruise Lines as an entertainment technician.
“And thanks to the professors pushing me to be the best I could, I was able to advance to a higher position relatively fast once I was in the door,” she said.
Slack’s advice to students is to follow their heart and choose a career that allows them to do what they love. She certainly does.
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By Matt Marn
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Tags that apply to this story: Impressive Jobs, Undergraduate Alumni
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