Friday, October 21, 2011

Meet WSA Alum, Brooke Parker


WSA Grad: Brooke Parker
WSET Intermediate Certificate Spring, 2011
Position: Tasting Room Associate, Dobbes Family Estate

While working full-time in the IT industry, Brooke was looking for a way to deepen her knowledge of wine. After testing the waters with a couple of WSA classes, Brooke signed up for the WSET Intermediate Certificate course in the Spring of 2011. The knowledge she gained there, along with the tremendous enthusiasm it fostered, helped her land a seasonal job in the tasting room at Dobbes Family Estate in Dundee. The preparation she received in the IC course allowed her to "hit the ground running." While Brooke is not quite ready to leave her IT job, she plans to use her new-found knowledge to "help change the wine world, one person at a time, and to focus on the fun, beauty, and deliciousness that is the real reason we pop the cork!"

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Help Wanted!

As you may have guessed if you’ve seen me lately, Adam and I are getting ready for the arrival of our second baby sometime around January 1st (no tax jokes please!). In order to ensure that the WSA continues to tick along with fabulous programming and events even in the months immediately following his arrival, I’m looking for some additional help around here! If you’re interested in getting more involved with the WSA in exchange for wine education, please get in touch! The positions listed below are a rough outline of the type of help that could come in handy, but if you have other skills you think might be useful, let me know. These positions are flexible and can be tailored to your schedule, but ideally I’m looking for a commitment of a couple of hours per week over a 2-month period.

Position 1: Course Assistant

Course assistants help with classroom set up, wine pouring (servers permit required) and clean up in exchange for reduced tuition for certification classes and free tuition for recreational classes. If you’re applying for this position, please note for which classes you’d like to be considered.

Position 2: Programming Intern

The programming intern will have the opportunity to develop and implement educational programming. The ideal candidate for this position brings some event planning experience as well as ideas for unique wine-related events (possible events include: advanced level wine seminars, lecture series, wine career symposium, etc.). Please note that this is NOT a teaching position.

Position 3: Marketing and Visual Education Intern (for lack of a better term)

Ideally, the MVE intern is visually minded with strong graphic design skills. This individual will create and install interactive visual displays at the WSA to increase casual learning opportunities at the school (this might include maps, soil samples, regional displays, etc.).

HOW TO APPLY: Send an email inquiry to cheers@wineandspiritarchive.com. Please include in our email: 1). why you are interested in the position and how you will use your education credits, and 2). the skills you bring to the position and any past relevant jobs/experiences. Review of applicants will begin November 1, 2011.