UTRGV’s Hospitality and Tourism Management Conference

By Amanda Alaniz

The UTRGV RCVCOBE Hospitality and Tourism Management Program recently hosted a conference for more than 200 Valley high school students wanting to learn about the hospitality business.

The conference, “Aloha Adventure,” hosted by UTRGV in collaboration with the Region One Education Service Center, was held Oct. 17 at the Region One ESC Conference Center in Edinburg.

Region One received a Perkins Innovation and Modernization Grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to help guide students with college and career readiness. Via that grant, the collaboration with UTRGV led to the conference and to helping students from rural school systems learn about careers in hospitality and tourism.

Chef Marcel Fortuin, lecturer I with the Hospitality and Tourism Management program, said this is the first conference the university has hosted, but he does hope it becomes an annual event.

“We really would like to do is then involve all school districts, so they would all be together at one large conference,” he said. “We’re going to reach out for feedback from the students themselves. They took a pre-conference survey asking if they are interested in hospitality, and what they know about it. At the end of the conference, we’ll give them another survey and take their feedback into consideration for a potential future conference.”

ALOHA ADVENTURE

Students attending heard from industry experts, participated in interactive workshops, and learned about the wide range of career opportunities available in hospitality and tourism.

Workshops included learning about destination and event management, lodging and ownership, and restaurant and entrepreneurship. Each of the breakout sessions was taught by a respected industry leader.

Some of the attendees saw the event as a way of reaffirming their career track.

Naileah Lopez, a senior at Roma High School who currently is learning about the culinary arts, said she appreciated learning more about the restaurant business and hotel management.

“I have really enjoyed this experience, especially with the chef. I learned a lot about how to run a restaurant, from the front customer service to the back of the restaurant, as well as the hotels, all the management that goes into them,” she said.

Fellow classmates Jacqueline Martinez and Audrey Canales said the conference influenced them to consider hospitality careers as they move forward with their education.

“For me, it’s been wonderful. It’s a new experience,” said Canales, a Roma High School senior. “I was unsure in the beginning, but I’m glad that I came. I might change my major to hospitality because I feel I would really like it, especially working in this field.”

Martinez, also a senior at Roma High School, said the lessons they took away from the workshops can be applicable to any career.

“Any career in general, you have to treat people with hospitality anywhere you go,” she said. “I feel like them doing this really taught us how to explain, when you have a job, how to treat people.”

The mission of UTRGV’s Hospitality and Tourism Management Program is to prepare globally competitive students to effectively and sustainably own or manage a hospitality business at the highest level of customer service.

ALOHA INSPIRATIONS

Two Roma ISD teachers who attended the conference with 54 of their students hoped the experience would inspire, as most of the students are getting ready to graduate from high school.

Mirna Mendiola, a human services and culinary arts teacher, said she was grateful to the administration for informing them about the conference and the potential it had for the students.

“We hope the students see all the opportunities that are out there, that it’s not limited to the environment they’re in, where it’s just Roma, Texas,” she said. “We want them to know there’s so much out there. That, if they set their mind to it, they’ll be able to explore.”

Emily Flores, a human services teacher, said she saw the event as opportunity for her students to figure out what they want to do after graduation.

Students were able to have networking sessions with executives in their communities and beyond, such as Chef Larry Delgado, co-owner of Delgado Collective Hospitality; Hershal Patel, manager with Ruby Red Hospitality; Devon Pasha, director of North America for the Event Design Collective; and Michelle Quiroz, manager partner of Reserva Coffee Roasters.

Dr. AJ Singh, director of the UTRGV Hospitality and Tourism Management Program, said hospitality, tourism and the broader service industries provide a range of career opportunities not just in the Valley, but nationally and internationally.

“Working with industry leaders, executives and faculty at UTRGV, the conference aims to create awareness, insights, trends, career opportunities in this dynamic sector for high school students in the Valley,” he said. “At the same time, we hope to inspire them to further their education by allowing them to explore a pathway to a business or hospitality business degree at UTRGV.”

Roma High School senior Armando De Leon said the overall experience and information was eye-opening as he prepares for college, and he learned about a lot of new jobs he might consider.

If given the opportunity to come back for a similar conference, he said, he would do so gladly.

“I’m going to sign up for another as soon as they give me the paper. I’m going to come back,” he said.