5X社区

Supporting Hospitality鈥檚 Next Generation

Kent State Hospitality and Event Management students receive scholarships and valuable experience from the 5X社区聽Hotel and Conference Center's management company

For the second year, several Kent Students will be awarded scholarships from The Olympia Companies 鈥 the organization that manages the.

The Hospitality Programs at Kent State

The scholarships support students in Kent State鈥檚 Hospitality and Event Management program, which is part of the College of Education, Health and Human Services' School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration. There are currently about 100 students in the program. Kiwon Lee, Ph.D., is an assistant professor and the program coordinator for the undergraduate Hospitality and Event Management program as well as the graduate Hospitality and Tourism Management program.

She said, 鈥淭here is a strong demand in the industry for quality employees, so our program expects growing interest from prospective students.鈥 Lee shared that the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that the U.S. economy will add 8.3 million jobs from 2021 to 203. Of those jobs, 1.9 million jobs 鈥 23.1 of all new jobs projected 鈥 are expected to be in leisure and hospitality.

Culinary student in the DI Hub.

Some of the star features of Kent State鈥檚 program are the university hotel and the Innovation Teaching Kitchen, located in the Design Innovation Hub. The kitchen is a state-of-the-art teaching space for culinary classes with live-stream capabilities to share demonstrations to lecture halls. The hotel is an integral part of the program鈥檚 experiential learning, offering on-site tours, classes taught by key hotel staff, guest speakers and internship opportunities.

Culinary student in the DI Hub.

Creating Opportunities for Students

In January 2021, the Olympia Companies became the management company for the university hotel. The company works to maintain guest satisfaction, employee satisfaction and financial profitability for the 10 independent hotels they manage. Kevin Walker is the director of operations for all of those hotels, including the university hotel. He studied hotel restaurant management at Penn State and said he enjoys the unique opportunities that come with working with a hotel that鈥檚 owned by a college, with the scholarship being one of those opportunities.

Kevin Walker, Olympia Companies

鈥淭o be able to work with a program like the one that鈥檚 available at Kent State is really professionally rewarding,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ecause we're able to not only support young professionals or professionals that are getting into hospitality, but also are able to potentially recruit for our own organization in the future. If we鈥檙e able to have relationships with these individuals and pay a small portion of their tuition, maybe they would be interested in coming to work for us.鈥

The scholarship is available for juniors and seniors in Kent State鈥檚 hospitality program, but Walker said that graduate students have also been considered as recipients. The funding comes from 5% of the Olympia Companies鈥 management fees from the hotel. So, the available dollar amount of the scholarships is tied to the performance of the hotel. If the hotel performs well in a given year, the scholarship grows. In 2022, four students received this scholarship. It is projected that two or three students will be receiving funds from this scholarship in 2023.

Hospitality student preparing a place setting.

David Schoeffler is the general manager of the 5X社区 Hotel & Conference Center, and has been with the hotel since 2021. He shared his thoughts on the scholarship.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a fantastic idea, and it really solidifies the partnership between Olympia, this hotel and 5X社区,鈥 he said. 鈥淲hat they are doing is remarkable and it really 鈥榩uts their money where their mouth is鈥 in regard to the partnership. In fact, I was told just days ago that one of our front office agents, who is a senior hospitality student, won one of the scholarships for this year.鈥

Mary Kline, director of sales and catering for the hotel, said that each year the scholarship students are invited to a special lunch with representatives from the hotel and the Olympia Companies and are awarded their scholarships.

Students learning how to make Thanksgiving dinner in the DI Hub.

An Invaluable Learning Experience

Walker sees the value to hospitality students in having a college-owned hotel. 鈥淵ou really don鈥檛 fully understand what being a hospitality manager is until you actually are one or stand along others and see what they go through on a daily basis, both positive and negative,鈥 he said. 鈥淪o, the education is important because it will provide a framework of how everything works together, and sort out the specialty areas of finance, accounting sales and marketing.鈥

鈥淏ut until you鈥檙e actually in the space working, you don鈥檛 have a full understanding or appreciate it.鈥

Smiling culinary student.

A Shared Passion

The teams at both the hotel and the Olympia Companies are always looking at new ways to help Kent State students grow. 鈥淲e love to bring in folks who are passionate about the industry,鈥 said Walker. 鈥淚 think the team at Kent is uniquely positioned to be great mentors and teachers of hospitality. They have decades of experience and it鈥檚 something they like to do. You have to share that information and so we absolutely see that happening. And, it is happening.鈥

鈥淲e always like to share when you come upon someone that has the same passion as you.鈥

POSTED: Thursday, August 17, 2023 01:15 PM
Updated: Thursday, August 17, 2023 04:03 PM
WRITTEN BY:
Phil B. Soencksen