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 [...]