July 22, 2025
Classrooms to careers: Arismia Lautenbach goes from Ferris State to FIFA Club World Cup for hospitality internship at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium
When Ferris State University’s Arismia Lautenbach accepted a corporate events internship through the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium, she never expected soccer would play such a big part of her summer.
But after eight high-stakes 2025 FIFA Club World Cup matches at the Miami stadium — surrounded by thunderous chants, world-famous players, and tens of thousands of passionate fans — Lautenbach fell in love with the energy surrounding the beautiful game.
“It’s been amazing to see how the game of soccer brings people from all over the world together,” said the 21-year-old Hospitality Management Program major. “The fans chanting and singing in unison made everything feel surreal at times. It was beautiful to see everyone come together.”
This was a special year for soccer in the United States.
This summer’s 2025 FIFA Club World Cup marked a historic expansion of the tournament, bringing the best club teams from six continents to American soil for the first time. Miami, one of 12 American venues, took center stage when Hard Rock Stadium welcomed clubs and international superstars for a series of high-profile matches, including the tournament opener.
And Lautenbach, working in corporate events, had a proverbial front-row seat for it.
So did her family.
“My parents and my brothers are huge soccer fans so I was really excited they could come down from Michigan for the final match in Miami,” she said. “I can’t believe my luck; what an amazing time to intern here.”
But it takes more than luck to land a corporate events internship at a place like Hard Rock Stadium.
“It takes hard work,” said Kathryn Wolfer, associate professor and Hospitality Management Program internship coordinator at Ferris State.
“Arismia is one of our great students; she’s goal-oriented and really wants to make a great career for herself,” Wolfer said.
Whether students aspire to own the best neighborhood restaurant or have their sights set on managing a global resort brand, Ferris State’s Hospitality Management Program prepares them to excel in the business of creating unforgettable experiences.
“Our program is based upon a solid business curriculum with rigorous academic coursework and extensive hands-on experience,” Wolfer said. “Hospitality is such an important part of any business and can be applied across so many career fields today.”
Students are required to complete two, 400-hour internships in core areas such as food and beverage, lodging and event management.
Lautenbach, who grew up in Ionia, is pairing her Hospitality Management degree with a specialized concentration in event management. Her Hard Rock Stadium internship runs through early August, allowing her to complete her studies in Big Rapids and graduate in 2026.
Working with the Corporate Events team, she monitors and coordinates the distribution of attendees gift bags to people in suites. Each group gets different corporate-sponsored swag.
Lautenbach developed welcome packets for event attendees and information packets to include what amenities are provided in each of the suites- including, televisions, outlets, speakers,
She developed a floral proposal for the vice president of Marketing, and has been networking with other interns from the information technology, ticketing and marketing departments to build connections.
Even though the FIFA Club World Cup is in the stadium’s rearview, there’s still plenty of work preparing for 2026 when the stadium helps host the biggest sporting event in the world: the FIFA World Cup.
“It’s definitely a great time to be a soccer fan,” Lautenbach said.