Global Luxury Management Students Volunteer at North Carolina Opera Gala
The North Carolina Opera (NCO) had support from more than 20 area students in planning and hosting the 2013 North Carolina Opera Gala, held November 16. Graduate students in the Global Luxury Management (GLM) program offered in partnership by NC State Poole College and SKEMA Business School worked hand-in-hand with NCO professional staff and volunteers to raise more than $100,000 for the North Carolina Opera.
GLM students, under the leadership of NC Opera Gala co-chairs Betsy Levitas and Jane Acquaviva, and Kate Sykes, volunteer chair and GLM student, formed teams to support marketing and communications, décor, and even setup and breakdown for the event. During the gala, GLM students served as hostesses, production and technical support assistants, and they staffed registration and attendee education stations to serve event guests.
”It made possible things we never dreamed possible,” said Levitas of the students’ involvement. “The GLM students played a significant part in creating a spectacular event – one that goes a long way to support the arts in our Triangle region.”
“Experiential luxury, which includes the arts, is the largest and fastest-growing sector of the luxury industry,” said Sykes, a student in the program. “Volunteering for the NC Opera Gala was a one-of-a-kind experience and one way GLM students get real experience even before we graduate.”
The NC Opera Gala was held on Saturday, November 16 at The Umstead Hotel & Spa in Cary, where Jim Beley is the general manager. Beley also serves on the GLM Industry Advisory Board, which is comprised of 19 executives from luxury organizations such as Buccallati-Americas, Carlyle & Co., Christofle Silver, Inc., The Luxury Institute, Peter Millar, Ralph Lauren, Vacheron Constantin and VIETRI.
About the Global Luxury Management Program
Global Luxury Management (GLM) is a unique academic program offered as an option in the Master of Global Innovation Management (MGIM) program in the Jenkins Graduate School at the North Carolina State University Poole College of Management. The GLM option was developed and is offered as a partnership between Poole College and SKEMA Business School's Sophia Antipolis campus in France, in collaboration with the NC State College of Textiles. The rigorous one-year dual degree graduate program provides students with a solid foundation in global luxury management coursework combined with experiential activities – to prepare future leaders for the dynamic global luxury marketplace. Students earn two masters degrees, one from NC State and one from SKEMA, during the one-year program. www.poole.ncsu.edu/glm
About North Carolina Opera
North Carolina Opera was founded in 2010 from the merger of Capital Opera Raleigh and The Opera Company of North Carolina. It is dedicated to presenting operatic performance at the highest level throughout the Triangle. We also have a robust education program that brings opera to schools across Wake County and surrounding counties. North Carolina Opera brings international level artists to Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, and also engages the best local Triangle talent.
Photos
Global Luxury Management students paused from their volunteer roles to pose for a photo taken by Tim Lytvinenko, a photographer and developer based in Raleigh, N.C.
