Q: What year did you graduate from Kent State and with what degree?
I graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science from the Hospitality Management Program.
Q: Where are you employed and what is an overview of your job?
I am currently the Director of Food and Beverage for Marriott International. I just came off of a few years of traveling full-time for Marriott working as an internal contractor to assist with hotel/restaurant openings, doing property deep dives, assisting with the execution of company-wide initiatives and task forcing. My current property is the Tysons Corner Marriott outside of Washington, DC. In my role, I oversee all Kitchen, Restaurant, In-Room Dining and Banquet operations as well as oversee all Event Planning and Management.
Q: How did the Hospitality and Event Management program prepare you for your career?
Overall, Kent taught me a lot outside of the classroom when it came to learning how to deal with many different personalities and backgrounds. Being involved in several programs on campus allowed me to learn how to work our diversity to reach an overall goal. Almost weekly, I reflect back on a lesson I learned in the classroom. Some of the most crucial classes to my career (though maybe not my favorite at the time!) were Hospitality Law, Culinary Classes and anything that Chef Perkins or Dr. Swathi taught, Purchasing and Nutrition. I would never be in the position I am now if it wasn’t for the lessons that either helped me keep my numbers in line, taught me how to deal with difficult HR issues, and how to create modern and diverse menus and events.
Q: What advice would you give to current Hospitality and Event Management students?
Pay attention and have fun. If you enjoy learning about a specific subject, don’t stop at what is expected to be known for the exams. Learn as much as you possibly can so that one day you can use that knowledge to get an edge on the other person trying to get the same promotion as you. Passion about your career not only makes you enjoy your job on a daily basis, but also is what an employer is looking for in their next candidate. And secondly, keep your text books! You will use them in your career more than you expect. Plus, when you finally get that big office, you will have something to fill the shelves!