From centerpieces to centerstage, the first semester of the Venue & Entertainment Management course sure lived up to the ‘sky is the limit’ directive. As part of the brand-new Event & Meeting Management track, within Hilton College’s Bachelor of Science in Global Hospitality Leadership degree program, 25 students had the unique opportunity to learn how to be the best from the industry’s best.
The 14-week course, taught by Mike Pedé (’89), associate vice president for alumni relations and faculty at the University of Houston, dove into his diverse pool of contacts to line up a superb, jam-packed schedule. This allowed for the students to fully immerse themselves within the extensive events space and learn from experts who are trailblazing.
“There was so much diversity in where we went and who we learned from, whether it was sponsorship or event management, everyone had different perspectives.”
— Alex Garton, a Hilton College student.
The group toured large-scale venues, like the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, NRG Stadium, Daikin Park, Toyota Center and the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Some of the most fun parts of these tours was seeing how truly versatile each location can be.
For example, concerts typically come to mind when thinking about Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, but the students actually got to tour the space the day after a kid’s festival was held, where 6,000 middle schoolers were in attendance. Likewise, during the NRG tour, the iconic Houston Texans football field was lined with pools of dirt for a monster truck series event. They also stood within a strangely empty Toyota Center with no stage, no court and no guests in sight.
“Whether you’re hosting 75,000 people in a stadium for a World Cup match or 100 guests at an intimate family wedding, the most important detail is always the smallest one,” said Pedé. “For me, it’s meaningful to show students what makes an event successful by uncovering details and spaces they wouldn’t have otherwise experienced.”
For Xavian Frisby, a Hilton College student, one of his favorite behind-the-scenes details was a small room hidden within NRG Stadium. The room was filled from floor to ceiling with 95 camera screens that had the capability of zooming in on specific people at the venue. During massive events, like the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, where tens of thousands of people are on-site, this is undoubtedly one of the most important rooms to be in, but one the public doesn’t often get to see.
“I didn’t know these venues had all of these components, so it was really eye opening. This has been one of my favorite classes this semester, and it made me want to continue pursuing events as a career path.”
— Xavian Frisby, a Hilton College student.
Another eye-opening experience came in the form of transportation to these venues. Pedé encouraged the students to travel by way of the Metro, as this gave them the same experience as many event attendees.
“One of the cool things about this class was that through it, we got to learn more about Houston,” said Azurley Vargas, a Hilton College student.
“When we went to Daikin Park, it was so neat learning about the history of Union Station. Actually stepping into the city of Houston made me realize how much history there truly is and encouraged me to get out and sight see.”
When the students weren’t touring these captivating spaces, speakers came into the classroom and gave presentations that could never be found in a textbook. Some presentations were about ticket sales, labor costs, day-of operations and security, while other covered how to shut down a street, request police security, work with a city, plan for guest lodging and transportation, etc. One day, they even covered the importance of nonverbal communication skills like body language and facial expressions.
“This field includes a wide array of departments and disciplines, and I believe that providing students with the chance to tour venues and engage with industry professionals shows them the complexities involved in executing games and events within our venues,” said Leah Mastaglio, the vice president of area operations and the assistant general manager of the Houston Rockets, Toyota Center.
This class successfully undaunted larger scale events, because often they seem intimidating, but are really broken down into several small details. For the students’ final project in the course, they put this idea into application. Teams of four or five chose an event, then leaned into expert advice to gather, evaluate and present upon the factors that would go into executing their dream event successfully.
“I’m really excited to take this class because the courses you appreciate as a student are the ones that can’t be taught from a textbook,” said Emma Garza, a Hilton College student who plans to take the course in the future.
Since this was the first time the course was offered, Pedé plans to continue diversifying the types of events covered in future semesters. For fall 2026, he even hopes to add a smaller venue to the tour schedule, such as a country club. And much like the dynamic industry these students are preparing to enter, sometimes the most impactful lessons simply can’t be contained within four walls.