For My Education

Seeing as how school takes up so much of the time that I would normally be spending traveling, I figured I’d give you all a bit of an inside scoop to what being a Hospitality major actually means.

I am entering my second semester in SJSU’s bachelors program of the Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management. Being a Hospitality student requires you to take classes that cover all emphases, like Hotel and Lodging Operations, Restaurant Management, Special Event Planning and Cost Control. While my study emphasis is  Tourism, I’ve found how closely all of these departments rely on each other in the real world. Students are also required to complete a total of 500 hours between two internships, to readily prepare us for postgrad life.

As I’ve mentioned before, hands on learning is huge to me. In my first semester alone I worked at one conference and attended another conference in different cities, helped plan an offsite University event, and toured the prestigious Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay.

I write this post not to bore you or brag, but to enlighten others who may think there’s no college career for them. College is by no means mandatory, there are a ton of other paths you can take it life! Seven years ago, when I was graduating high school, I was going to major in Psychology. Five years ago, I was indefinitely leaving school for limitless adventures in London. Four years ago, art school was my new muse. Three years ago I was introduced to the idea of Hospitality and Tourism as a career. Who even knew that was a thing!?

My point is, it took me a while to figure out where I was going, but I required all of those years, decisions, and attempts to find the right path for me. This is like my little Bat Signal to all you wanderers, loners and self-doubters – take your time, try things out, and you will find a career path that is meant for you.

So my future looks like this: Three more semesters of school, one more internship and lots of business card collecting!