Earning My “Fair Share”: From Intern to Full-Time at Eastern States Exposition
My name is Elizabeth Gourde, and I am a proud member of YPS of Greater Springfield and the Eastern States Exposition’s (ESE) Communications and Public Relations Coordinator. In my position, I am responsible for generating the organization’s in-house copywriting, copyediting, press communications, company newsletters and more. However, that was not my story this time last year. Join me as I walk you through my path from an unlikely internship to a full-time position at the home of The Big E, where “it’s always showtime.” Stay tuned until the end when I let you know what I am looking forward to most at North America’s fourth largest fair this September!
ESE is a not-for-profit corporation committed to excellence in providing year-round opportunities for the development and promotion of agriculture, education, industry and family entertainment, all in the name of preserving New England heritage. We are best known for The Big E, America’s only multi-state fair, which draws more than 1.6 million fairgoers to the town of West Springfield, Massachusetts, annually. However, we offer a diverse calendar of more than 120 events each year, including Storrowton Village Museum’s Maple Harvest Day and Pancake Breakfast, The Fiber Festival of New England and Hooplandia, the Northeast’s Ultimate Basketball Tourney + Festival. At ESE, there’s something for every kind of enthusiast.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in writing from The College of Our Lady of the Elms in Chicopee, Massachusetts, in May of 2023. I was resistant to my path—I’ve always enjoyed writing and wordplay, but I feared that a job in my desired field would spoil the passion I coveted by monetizing it. I entered college undecided and hesitant. However, I eventually gravitated towards the subject I loved and declared it as my major. After graduation, as I continued in the customer service role I accepted during my senior year, I realized that something had to give; I needed a job that enthused me every day and better aligned with my personal values.
I spent many weekends fussing with internship and job applications in coffee shops up and down the East Coast. In all honesty, it was grueling and defeating beyond measure. The job market is a difficult place to navigate these days, and I felt that my head was a foot under water with no buoy. Additionally, when I found my job experience was not relevant enough to my field to secure a full-time position, it felt strange to be applying for internships as a college graduate.
As cliché as it may sound, networking is not at all underrated. I am proud to share that I won an Irish heritage pageant and became Holyoke’s Grand Colleen just a couple months earlier than the start of my job search. I received letters and direct messages expressing congratulations for my accomplishment from senators, local leaders and former colleens I’ve never met. One message from Elizabeth LaFond Coppez, a perfect stranger, would change everything.
As a former colleen, she welcomed me to the sisterhood and told me that my biography had resonated with her as a fellow English major. I thanked her for her kindness and asked what she did with her own degree. She explained that her career took off following an internship as a summer writer with Eastern States Exposition and offered to connect me with the then-director of Marketing, Noreen Tassinari, who graciously reopened applications for my sake just before her retirement.
I wish I could say that the rest was easy, but it came with difficult choices. I performed well during my interview with the interim Director of Marketing, Anne-Alise Pietruska, and received a letter of acceptance, but I was too anxious to take the leap. I negotiated my tentative payment plan as much as I could, but I eventually came to a stalemate; I couldn’t justify leaving my full-time position with decent pay. However, the months stretched on, and my customer service role was still not fulfilling. I couldn’t shake the knowledge that accepting a temporary internship at a smaller hourly rate with no guarantee of a full-time position was a huge risk, and I’ve never met anyone who jumps from an airplane without a safety net.
One summer afternoon, my boyfriend and I talked through all the details for what must have been the millionth time. When I finished ranting, he started to laugh.
“Well, I’m glad you think this is funny,” I said with an exasperated sigh. “What could you possibly find so humorous?”
“So, ESE told you there’s no full-time position to be filled?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I confirmed.
“That’s because they don’t know you or how hard you work at all. Get in there and give ‘em your all, because I know you can, and I’m sure you can change their minds,” he said with all the confidence in me that I didn’t feel.
The next day, I sent Anne-Alise an email, asked if the internship was still available and submitted my two weeks’ notice. On Monday, August 19, I worked my final day in my customer service role. On Tuesday, August 20, I was able to add “writer” to my resumé.
Joining the team just two weeks before the start of The Big E 2024 was baptism by fire, but the hard work was alleviated by the wonderful team into which I was integrated. I learned the ropes quickly and eagerly began to identify and develop my own stories for newsletters and press releases. My list of tasks seemed to quadruple as I met the goals set for me and devised my own, extending the expectations of the position.
The best part about the role? Working for an institution with such a diverse mission allowed me to explore so many of my passions at once without sacrificing the opportunity to exercise the skill that guided me there: writing. I am a fervent music lover, someone who champions the truth in journalism, an activist, a former 4-H Club member, an advocate for holistic education and that is only the beginning of the many sides to me. ESE is not so limited that it must be one thing, and neither am I.
The day after the Fair’s conclusion, as I walked to lunch with Anne-Alise, she asked if I had an interest in joining the team in a full-time capacity. When I overcame my initial shock, I accepted and nodded emphatically. The role I took on was curated to my unique skill set, which served as a testament to the labor I had poured into my unlikely internship. Suddenly, the risk was worthwhile, and I did not mind all the occasions where I had to swallow my pride and explain I was an intern that already held a college degree.
Flawed as Roald Dahl, author of Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was, an excerpt from his adult comedy, My Uncle Oswald, made a great impression upon me at a young age:
I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be.
For those that read my career story for the sake of getting the scoop on the latest and greatest in fairtime food and entertainment, you’ve reached the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I am proud to announce that YPS of Greater Springfield’s Third Thursday on September 18 will take place at Dolly’s Honky Tonk, sponsored by Boot Barn. This bar and entertainment venue serves as The Big E’s very own touch of Nashville, Tennessee. That evening, look forward to mechanical bull riding, grab-and-go food, a dance floor and quality company. Enjoy line dancing from 6—7:30pm and a trick rope performance from 8—8:30pm. Parking passes are not available. We encourage attendees to carpool and use the Gate 9 public parking lot.
As I previously stated, I am an incurable music lover—I’ve attended County Rock, Classical and Electronic shows within the stretch of a single week. My hunger for a thrumming set of strings or steady bassline is insatiable, and words pick me up and carry me away to a place of clearer thinking. Of The Big E’s many exciting concert announcements this year—Elliot Lurie of Looking Glass, The Marshall Tucker Band, Train, Rick Ross and Busta Rhymes, etc.—I am looking forward to The Avett Brothers on Saturday, September 20, the most. Their Folk Rock repertoire is phenomenal, but their standout single “I Wish I Was” (2016) has crept its way onto every biographical playlist I’ve ever constructed for myself.
I’d be remiss if I did not mention, as a former Grand Colleen, that the first weekend of the Fair, September 12-14, is The Big E’s Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day celebration. This occasion honors West Springfield’s sister city relationship with the Dingle Peninsula and larger Western County Kerry, Ireland. Friday through Sunday, fairgoers can enjoy hours of Irish entertainment, purchase West Springfield Tartan and interact with vendors in the Dingle Pavillion, located in the Young Building.
Additionally, I am a self-proclaimed foodie, so I am sure you can imagine that The Big E is a dangerous place to work. Like most fairgoers, I can eat my body weight in Creampuffs from The Big E Bakery, Billie’s Baked Potatoes and Macho Taco’s empanadas. However, you would not believe how ready you are to see a leafy green after 17 consecutive days at the most delicious place in the country! Last year, I was ecstatic that my favorite food truck, Broccoli Bar of Burlington, Verm., wound up behind at my new job. I seek them out at every local concert and festival I attend. I am delighted to announce that they will be serving The Big E their delicious, vegan dishes once more. If you’ve never treated yourself to a veggie dance party or a “Big Sexy,” broccoli cooked to perfection in five different ways, then you haven’t lived.
Frankly, I am looking forward to the entirety of my second installment of The Big E with ESE, September 12-28, and I hope you’ll join me! You can find information about the Fair on our social media or website, and advance tickets are available now at TheBigE.com.
By: Elizabeth Gourde, Communications and Public Relations Coordinator
