College of Human Sciences students make valuable professional connections at annual Hospitality Management Career and Internship Fair

A ballroom inside The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center was at near capacity as 59 tables representing a wide-range of companies throughout the hospitality industry were set up for the College of Human Science’s annual Hospitality Management Career and Internship Fair held for students on Wednesday, Oct. 25.

Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management students across each degree option seeking full-time employment, internship opportunities or to make valuable professional connections had the privilege of meeting potential employers across the hotel, restaurant, beverage and tourism industries while at the career fair.

Macy Daniel, a junior majoring in event management, returned to the career fair after benefitting from it one year prior after she was offered an internship as a hostess at Sea Island in St. Simmons Island, Ga. that she completed this past summer.

“I love the career fair because it’s a great way to make connections when you really wouldn’t have another opportunity to and some of these companies I didn’t even know existed,” Daniel said. “It can be hard to look up certain jobs in hospitality and industry jobs but when they come here and you hear directly from them and what their business is for it makes it nice.”

The College of Human Sciences Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management program requires all students to undertake 600 hours of work experience in the hospitality industry, prior to completing a 400 hour internship in order to obtain a degree. Because of this, the career and internship fair can be a perfect place to meet potential employers to gain that valuable experience while also logging the necessary hours needed to graduate.

Companies ranging from Capital City Club Atlanta, Maker’s Mark, Bucee’s, Grand Bohemian Hotel, Old Edwards Luxury Hospitality Group, PP Hospitality Group and dozens more were on hand to greet students, offer valuable advice, review resumes and more.

Jose Antunez, assistant human resources director of Capital City Club in Atlanta, attended the career fair for a third time and when asked what specifically the club is looking for as far as positions go he said a wide variety of opportunities were available to Auburn hospitality students.

“We always have a position available for someone who wants to learn and I think that’s a difference for us because we have a little more time to develop people,” Antunez said. “We have three properties so we have rotational internships that are catered to freshmen and sophomores but juniors can do it too. The rotation is 12 weeks and we try to rotate them between all three properties to get a sense of all the different environments and exposure to the industry.”

When giving students advice or explaining opportunities available at Capital City Club, he said it comes down to two things; having an ultimate goal and receiving joy about being around people.

“I ask them what their ultimate goal is,” Antunez said. “I want them to understand that anything in hospitality is people driven so at the end of the day, if you don’t like people or you think you’re going to be behind a desk and do the same thing that’s not true. In hospitality, you’ll never just do one thing and it’s always people driven so you just need to like being around people. Everything else, we can teach you. Auburn gives you a great base and application but you can learn and get the experience with us.”

Julia Weingarten, a junior in event management, is interested in wedding planning and said she had a great experience talking to representatives from Old Edwards Inn and Spa in Highlands, N.C. because of the many wedding venues they offer. For her, the career fair experience will hopefully lead to an internship opportunity.

“Old Edwards Inn was a place that was really interesting to me and I love their location also,” Weingarten said. “I love talking to people so this was fun to me. It was also a lot less intimidating than I expected. I did my research on some companies but I was thinking they might quiz me for some reason but it was actually just a welcoming environment and they genuinely wanted to talk to me.”

For more information on the Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management, visit Humsci.auburn.edu/hosp.