April 2015 - Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management

Students Receive Lee Brian Schrager Excellence in Leadership Awards for Volunteerism

The Chaplin School recently awarded the Lee Brian Schrager Excellence in Leadership Awards to three dedicated hospitality management students. The annual scholarships were created five years ago by Southern Wine and Spirits, in honor of Mr. Schrager’s leadership and dedication to the Chaplin School. Michelle Diaz, Lori Siegel, and Kathy Fernandez (pictured from left to right), committed a tremendous amount of time volunteering at the 2015 Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by FOOD & WINE and were recognized at a gathering in the School's Wine Spectator Restaurant Management Lab. Each student received a $5,000 scholarship. Michelle Diaz Excellence in Leadership Award for Culinary Management Festival Responsibilities Served as FIU Chef Michael Moran’s teaching assistant Volunteered over 90 hours managing nearly 10 booths, prepping for all the North Venue events, and pre-planning Aspirations "My plan is to one day own and manage a restaurant of my own. For now, I’m going to continue to cook great food with Chef Moran, get good grades, and keep working hard so I don’t have to later on." Lori Siegel Excellence in Leadership Award for Beverage Management Festival Responsibilities Manage front of the house Al Fresco Feast Worked closely with Professor Hebrank Aspirations "Aspirations for the future have been greatly influenced by the Wine of the New World class I am taking with Professor Hebrank. I would like to continue to explore my options in the wine industry for the future." Kathy Fernandez Excellence in Leadership Award for Special Events Festival Responsibilities 2015 – Human Resources Coordinator working alongside the Festival’s event managers to recruit, hire, and train the over 1,200 students; during the Festival, served as on-site coordinator for the Grand Tasting Village 2014 – Committee Assistant for Fun and Fit as [...]

Powerful Impressions: Institute’s Culinary Arts Academy Student to Begin Academic Career at FIU

When Price Destinobles made the decision to apply to the Chaplin School's Institute for Hospitality & Tourism Education & Research's (IHTER) Culinary Arts Academy last fall, it was the result of his high school culinary arts teacher's urging. As a senior at North Miami Senior High School, Price and his teacher, Andre Franks, knew that he wanted to have a career that centered around food, but challenges in Price's young life made the path to his ultimate career goal uncertain. As a student in the Miami-Dade County Public School System, Price has been enrolled in the homeless assistance program (HAP), Project UP-START, which provides support and resources to homeless students in the district. While he had some support from extended family members and HAP, Price has, at one point, had to work two jobs to support himself. Never having a real-life example of what positive directions to take after high school, he knew that attending college was his only option. "Price took his background and made a decision to take a different route. His background has propelled him to strive for success," Mr. Franks said. Even while dealing with challenges out of the classroom, Price remained focused. He currently serves as president of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project chapter for his school, plays basketball, and has participated in volleyball, ran cross country, and was also a member of the school's culinary club. Price's first encounter with FIU was with advisor Kaleena Salgueiro who was at his high school on a recruitment visit. "As she spoke, I listened and soaked everything she said in," Price recalls. Samantha Dahlia, program manager of the Culinary Arts Academy, was the next person he spoke with. She interviewed him for [...]

Hospitality Students Attend the Young Hoteliers Summit in Switzerland

Two Chaplin students participated in The Young Hoteliers Summit at the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland in March. Seniors Stephanie van Romondt and Christopher Gonzalez Jacobo were presented with the challenge of designing a hotel organizational network that embraces disruption. Only 30 of the top hospitality schools from around the globe are invited to this exclusive event. The Chaplin School has been invited ever since the conference began meeting six years ago and has attended four times.

Chaplin Professor and Student Win Best Paper Award at International Business Conference

The International Interdisciplinary Business-Economics Advancement Conference brought together academics from business, social sciences, and tourism/hospitality for workshops, presentations and networking. Dr. Carolin Lusby, a Chaplin School faculty member, presented two papers and also gave attendees a short overview of Belize, its tourism industry, and issues Belize faces in terms of economic and tourism development. Dr. Lusby and graduate student Lindsay Ackerman earned the best paper award for their presentation on consumer perceptions of cruise line sustainability. The paper gauged how important sustainability is to consumers when booking a cruise. Further work will hopefully help cruise lines to become more sustainable in the future, not just economically, but also environmentally and socioculturally.

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