Victoria Hales

Management & Marketing Graduate is Corporate Assistant at Great Wolf Resorts

Victoria Hales, Marketing & Management, Class of: 2005
The Lorain County JVS prepares students for the world of work with skills learned in the classroom and on the job site.

This was one of the significant reasons Victoria Hales, of Keystone, chose the JVS Business/Marketing Academy, when she enrolled in the JVS Marketing & Management Program in 2005.

“The Business/Marketing Academy has a co-op work experience for seniors who excel in their program,” stated Hales. “This meant if I worked hard, I would be able to spend most of my senior year on the job, instead of in the classroom. Moreover, I would be learning job skills, and earning a weekly paycheck and school credit.”

“Knowing that I could work during my senior year really appealed to me,” continued Hales. “I’m a hands-on person; the classroom setting is okay, but I wanted to be out in the real world of work.”

During the summer between her junior and senior year, Hales participated in the JVS Summer Internship Program. “I worked at Grey Hawk Golf Course in LaGrange.”

“My summer internship position led me to the job I would do when I was accepted into the Business/Marketing Co-op program my senior year,” continued Hales. “I attended the JVS from 7:50 a.m. to 11 a.m. and worked part-time in the afternoons at Durham Ridge Construction Company as an administrative assistant.”

Hales was also active in DECA-An Association of Marketing Students while at the JVS. DECA is an international career-technical association for students studying marketing, management and entrepreneurship.

“DECA’s motto is explore, exchange, experiment, and excel,” affirmed Hales. “The JVS certainly gave me the opportunity to do all these things!”

“My instructors, Larry Abraham and Linda Varga, helped me prepare for district, state and national DECA competitions,” stated Hales. “Participating in these competitions helped me learn problem-solving techniques, including handling emergencies and managing staff.”

“Mr. Abraham and Mrs. Varga are both very knowledgeable and devoted teachers,” she said. “They prepared me so well for the competitions that I advanced to the National DECA Career Development Conference in Orlando, Florida.”

Hales also landed her current job – a Corporate Assistant in the Corporate Buying Office for Great Wolf Resorts – through the JVS Business & Marketing Co-op program.

“In my position, I help create the orders for the merchandise we are going to buy for all the locations, including clothing, jewelry, arcade items, and souvenirs for the lodges,” stated Hales. “I’ve been doing this job since my senior year at the JVS.”

“My position as a corporate assistant is a change from what I had done previously,” stated Hales. “But my teachers taught me to prepare for the unexpected, so I was able to make the transition quite easily.”

“The JVS teachers and Career Services staff were extremely helpful in providing me with a variety of work experiences during my time at the JVS,” stated Hales.
“I’m so glad I made the decision to attend the JVS,” continued Hales. “I know in my heart I would not be the person I am today, or achieved the level of success that I have achieved thus far, without all the people I met and the experiences I had at the Lorain County JVS!”