The Grand Junction native and hospitality management graduate is continuing her journey as an Internal Event Coordinator at CMU
For Anika Flores, some of life’s biggest moments have happened close to home.
She graduated from Central High School in Grand Junction, chose Colorado Mesa University just a few miles away and, this May, earned her degree in hospitality management on the same campus where she found her career path.
Now, Flores is beginning her next chapter at CMU, not as a student, but as the university’s Internal Event Coordinator. It’s a role rooted in the kind of detail she has come to love, including preparing rooms, organizing schedules, handling last-minute changes and making sure people walk into a space that feels ready for them.
For Flores, staying local helped her see Grand Junction through a new lens. The community she knew before college became connected to the friendships, mentors and professional opportunities she found as a Maverick.
When Flores first started college, she didn’t have her future fully mapped out. Like many students, she was still trying to figure out what kind of career would fit the life she wanted to build. So, she started reading through CMU’s catalog of majors. Hospitality management stood out immediately.
That decision eventually led her to the University Center. In summer 2024, Flores started working as an administrative assistant, helping schedule events, create layouts and support internal and external gatherings across campus.
At first, she learned the details. Then, she began to understand how much work happens before guests even arrive. Behind every event was a team thinking through how a room should function, how people would move through the space and what needed to happen so the gathering could run smoothly.
As her interest grew, she became a student event coordinator on campus, a role that allowed her to see events through from the early planning stages to the end result.
Her work in the University Center became one of the most meaningful parts of her CMU experience. It gave her hands-on experience in the field and connected her with staff, coworkers and community members who helped shape her path.
Her experience in event planning soon expanded beyond campus. Last summer, Flores completed an internship with Sparked Weddings and Events. After the internship, she was invited to officially join the team as an assistant planner on wedding days.
The role introduced her to a different side of event planning, where the stakes felt personal, and every detail mattered. Flores sat in meetings with couples leading up to their weddings, helped ensure plans were in place and learned how quickly an event planner has to adjust when something changes.
“There is so much detail that goes into planning weddings and making sure the wedding day comes together,” Flores said. “It’s important to master problem-solving in the event world because sometimes things don’t go to plan, so you have to be on your toes.”
The wedding world helped Flores sharpen the skills she was already building at CMU. She learned to pay attention to the small things, stay calm under pressure and focus on the experience people will remember after the event is over.
Outside of class and work, Flores also found community through faith-based clubs on campus and through her church, where she volunteers in the children’s ministry and on the worship team. Those experiences strengthened her understanding of service, something she views as closely connected to hospitality.
“Giving back to the community has taught me the importance of compassion, servant leadership and community,” Flores said. “Hospitality goes a long way and can impact someone’s life, whether you know it or not.”
As she reflects on her time at CMU, Flores credits the people who helped her along the way, including her family, her fiancé, Cade, her mentor Kayley Kutcher and the friends who became like family.
For students just starting their CMU journey, Flores encourages them to get involved early and find a job on campus, something that helped her gain experience, build confidence and find the career she is beginning now.
“Saying yes helped me gain amazing experiences and relationships,” Flores said. “I know college goes by fast, so take advantage of the experiences and build connections.”
For Flores, saying yes led to a major, a student job, an internship and a full-time role at the university that helped shape her. Now, as she begins her career at CMU, she will continue doing the work that first drew her to hospitality: helping people feel welcomed, cared for and ready for the moments that matter.