COM Alum Turns Magical Internship Into Real Career

In the midst of preparing for graduation, the CSUDH Communications Department requires students to complete an internship during their last semester in order to graduate. Finding an internship hasn't always been an easy task, but landing a job at the end of it isn't something students are always fortunate with. Marisol Alvarez has been the exception to this. She has been working at The Magic Castle where she has interned for about three years now.

Alvarez graduated from Cal State Dominguez Hills Communications Department in 2017. During her last semester, just like other students, she was looking for an internship. Through personal connections, she was able to get ahold of the event coordination department manager and find out if they accepted interns, let alone interns that needed college credit. For those who don't know, The Magic Castle is an exclusive "members only" magic club. It brings in magicians, magic enthusiasts, and is the clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts. The Magic Castle is known as the most unusual private club in the world.

"The Magic Castle never had internship opportunities, let alone give anyone the chance to work under them for college credits," Alvarez explained. "So this was new to them and had to be run by their general manager."

Within a week, she received a call back and was asked to come in for an interview. Alvarez talked about hitting it off with the general manager and was offered an internship through The Magic Castle two weeks later.

From the beginning, Alvarez's goal was to land a job with The Magic Castle.

"Ever since I could remember, I wanted to be involved in party planning and event coordination," said Alvarez. "Interning there reassured me that this was something I ultimately wanted to do as my career."

Her internship experience at The Magic Castle gave her the tools she needed to put together events and handle the ins and outs of party planning and event coordination. Juggling school, work, and an internship isn't always an easy task for students, but Alvarez was able to handle it.

She would intern at The Magic Castle three days a week, while attending school at Cal State Dominguez four days a week. Her route to The Magic Castle and Dominguez wasn't an easy one either. The Magic Castle is located in the Hollywood while CSU Dominguez Hills is located in Carson, which meant she was doing a lot of commuting. Throughout it all, Alvarez's work and school ethic never went unnoticed. Her perseverance to get done what she needed to has led her to where she is today.

After finishing her internship at The Magic Castle, she wasn't offered a permanent position because the department she was interning at was a three-person department. At first, she felt upset that she wasn't offered a position right away since she had enjoyed interning at The Magic Castle. But then she received an email in August 2017, offering her a proposal for a temporary position for three months at The Magic Castle.

They wanted her to come back as a temp because she already knew the ropes of the position, instead of hiring and training a new person. Alvarez saw this as an opportunity and she accepted the position as a temp for The Magic Castle for three months. When the three months were up, her manager asked her if she wanted to extend her contract for another six months during their busy season.

"I agreed as I wouldn't want to be working anywhere else," Alvarez said. During her nine months there it was inevitable she wanted this to be her permanent job and, just after her six month extension, she was offered a permanent position at The Magic Castle as the Seance Manager and Events Assistant.

As a Seance Manager she takes care of the bookings for those interested in partaking in an experience where customers are able to enjoy a four-course dinner, along with meeting with a medium. As Events Assistant, she also takes care of all aspects of event planning.

"I couldn't be happier because it is true when the saying goes love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life," Alvarez said.

She talks about the shift there from being an intern to now working there in an official capacity, which she says is definitely a change.

"When you're interning, you are shadowing and assisting in the matters that the head of the department wants you to do," Alvarez said. "They keep a close eye on you because you're just an intern and not an actual employee."

Her permanent position means she now has her own department sub-section that she manages on her own. This allows her to be more independent, creating her own schedule and tasks that need to get done under her.

As an alumni from Cal State Dominguez Hills, Alvarez has shown that whatever you do, temporary or not, you have to put in your full effort. Showcasing alums like her from our own department allows the current CSUDH students to know that anything is possible. Interning, even while juggling other things, prepares them for the future outside of school.

Alvarez took an opportunity and ran with it until it got her to where she wanted to be. That is something anyone can implement in their lives. An internship is an incredible learning experience that we can take and showcase when applying for actual jobs. "When you are doing something you love, it never feels like work," Alvarez said.