SJSU Students on Special Events Management Team Prep for Success at 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

Artificial intelligence can do many things, but providing next-level hospitality at the world's most desirable pro-am golf tournament? Leave that to the hard-working humans from The Pebble Beach Company and San José State University's Pebble Beach Special Events Management Team (SEMT), who work in collaboration to help make the annual event a success.

This dynamic pairing is marking its 20th year of partnership as they prepare for the upcoming 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am being held February 12-15. Leadership teams from both entities collaborated in the fall to select 28 SJSU students for this year's cohort, then began preparing them to work at the famed golf course known for its postcard views overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Hands-on preparation

In the weeks leading up to the big event, students are immersed in an experiential and accelerated training program that succeeds in supplying them with a figurative toolbox to fulfill their assigned duties.

SEMT provides students from all majors with the opportunity to spotlight their skills while managing a team in hospitalities or on-course food and beverage operations. Under the guidance of highly experienced professionals, students manage, plan and oversee these hospitality areas while simultaneously gaining a breadth of experience that cannot be taught in a classroom. This year the popular program had 90 applicants, with less than a third earning a coveted spot.

Student sentiments

Freshman Eduardo Jauregui-Chavez, '29 Management, says he became increasingly interested in the program by way of a fall class taught by Terry Thompson, adjunct professor of hospitality, tourism and event management and SEMT faculty, who often spoke highly of the reputable program.

Jauregui-Chavez applied to SEMT to make connections and grow his network. Moreover, he saw it as an excellent opportunity to discover his strengths and weaknesses in a managerial position.

"During event week I really hope to understand how to work effectively with people of different ages and backgrounds in ways that would best help not only me, but also them during our time working together," Jauregui-Chavez says. Another of his aspirations is to gain more confidence in himself.

Yaritzy Garcia-Montenegro, '26 Marketing, and 2025 SEMT alumna, recalls how her participation last year taught her how to adapt to other leadership styles, and how to work in teams with individuals of varying ages. She admits that the feeling after completing the difficult and rewarding week is "indescribable."

"I also did learn that confidence is everything, because even if you don't feel as confident talking to a guest, as long as you look confident, that's very important in order to help you be as confident as possible," Garcia-Montenegro says. "It can be very intimidating, especially when you first begin, but throughout event week everyone just grows so much."

This year Garcia-Montenegro has returned as a student coordinator, a role in which she oversees communication between SEMT and the student applicants and, eventually, the selected team members, as well as other duties at Pebble Beach like providing tours for university guests.

Fostering and manifesting success

A handful of traits that make for an excellent SEMT candidate include a willingness to learn, a strong work ethic, leadership qualities, being pro-active and having confidence, according to Gretchen Melvin, special events senior manager at the Pebble Beach Company . She says some students may not start with confidence, but they do leave the program with it. Firsthand, Melvin has seen students go to Pebble Beach feeling nervous or skeptical, and by the end of the week, feel positively life-changed.

"We hear it frequently that it's the best experience they have in college because it's challenging," Melvin says, pointing out that everything students have planned for may not go as anticipated. "It's putting them in situations that they are managing and achieving, and so things that they never thought they could do - we know they can do it, [but] they just have to know that they can do it."

Furthermore, Melvin points out that the SEMT program is set up with many layers of support for students, sharing that one of their go-to sayings is, "We'll never let you fail."

Melvin and Thompson are in lock step with their dedication to the students' success with their motto, and also in recognizing how much the team members flourish. From the weeks-long prep and follow-through, they emphasize their students' personal growth, sharing how their cohorts come out on the other side of the event so vastly different.

"If there's a problem, we're there to help, always, not to criticize," Thompson noted. "Because everybody makes mistakes - that's how we all learn." As Thompson explains it, should a student happen to break a glass or drop a tray of food, they are encouraged to clean it up and grab another without expecting fault-finding. Simply put, students are empowered to make decisions on the spot.

"Our job is to help students discover their potential and this program offers the unique opportunity for that discovery to happen at one of the premier hospitality destinations in the world," Thompson says. He can see the shift in their attitudes when they come back, and often sees it in their faces on their last day in Pebble Beach.

In his point of view, seeing students thrive in the Pebble Beach program is the ultimate reward.

Students eager to learn more about SJSU's Pebble Beach Special Events Management Team can find details here or on SEMT's Instagram page.