DISHING UP DREAMS AND DIPLOMAS

by Sandra Avant

This article appeared in the Winter 1996 issue of New Mexico Resources.

The romantic notion shared by many young dreamers to run away and join the circus usually fades once they grow up and go off to college. But for those with an unwavering spirit of adventure, NMSU's hospitality and tourism services program (HTS) offers the opportunity to explore the realm of trapeze artists and animal tamers.

The hospitality and tourism field is so diverse that those seriously inclined to travel around the world with a top rate circus can do so while making a decent living. Just recently, Michael MacHatton, assistant professor in HTS, received a call from an agency looking for people to run the concession stand, cafeteria, and other operations on the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus train.

Many NMSU alumni are already finding their niche in jobs that are not easy to come by.

"Some graduates have gone to fancy resort properties like the ones in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Ariz. on millionaire's row," MacHatton says. "One former student is a recreational and activity director on a cruise ship in Japan, and one young woman, who was a music fanatic, is now road manager for Lollapalooza. She goes around the country setting up concerts. It's her dream job."

Although Catrina Marino did not dream of joining the circus, her wish came true after graduating from HTS and earning the outstanding graduate in home economics award in 1994. She is the front desk manager at the elegant JW Marriott Hotel in Houston, Texas. Even though it is not the life portrayed on the TV series "Hotel," Marino often gets a peek at the "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."

"We do get a lot of celebrities and a lot of sports teams," she says. "I saw Shaquille O'Neal. President Clinton was here. And when they were filming the movie, 'Tin Cup,' I met Kevin Costner and Don Johnson. I've seen two of my bellmen meet their heroes - Emmit Smith and a famous boxer. They were all like little boys. One of my doormen said, 'I love my job. I love my job.' It was really neat."

Marino keeps busy supervising front desk clerks, door attendants, concierges, and telephone operators. After a 13-hour day, the El Paso native barely notices the time she has put in. In a couple of days, she will be training more employees. For now, her hard work and enthusiasm is reflected in the staff on duty. Bellhops, as well as desk clerks, greet all guests - wandering in and out of a humid, dreary day - with warm smiles and a pleasant "good afternoon."

HTS gives students like Marino well-rounded courses that provide training in tourism, convention planning, special events, and the hotel and restaurant sector. The primary goal is to help them become professionals in the industry, give them experience, and help them get jobs, says Patrick Moreo, HTS director.

"That's the big difference between our kind of program and others," Moreo says. "Our program has a four letter word at the end. It's w-o-r-k. All students have 400 hours of practical work experience, then another 400 hours of internship, in addition to 128 credits for the bachelor's degree."

The hospitality and tourism educational field is expanding. At last count, 200 programs existed at four-year institutions around the country. However, less than 100 are "true" hospitality programs that offer in-depth study in the various areas, MacHatton says. On the other hand, when culinary, travel agency, and other such programs are considered, two-year schools have close to 400 programs.

The hospitality program at Cornell University is more than 70 years old. Purdue's is close to 30. At the age of eight, NMSU's program is "the new kid on the block." The program has grown since 1988 to 250 students. Even in its infancy, it has won the respect of graduates from the old school.

"I think it has an excellent curriculum," says Gordon Heiss, Santa Fe Dining Inc. president. "I went to Cornell hotel and restaurant administration school. Of course that seems like 100 years ago, but nonetheless, I tend to compare the curriculum there to the one at NMSU. And I'm very favorably impressed with the one at NMSU. It's very up to date, and covers all facets of the industry."

People who enter the hotel and restaurant business have to be versatile, adaptable, willing to work, and anxious to learn, Heiss says. All NMSU graduates that work for Santa Fe Dining possess those qualities.

Paula Segura, NMSU alumna and assistant general manager at La Casa Sena restaurant, is seen by Heiss as "a mainstay, qualified in all areas from computers and menu-making to supervision and service."

Segura likes the business because it's "fast-paced and people-oriented - an adventure every day." She got a head start on her career by working in a restaurant and a bed and breakfast while in school, but the class work helped bring everything together.

"So much of the stuff you learn in the actual classroom comes into play here and there, but the events that we did like catering, banquets, and fairs - the actual hands-on planning - helped the most," Segura says.

Statistics show that few people are employed in the line of work in which they have degrees. Graduates of hotel and restaurant schools are more likely to stick to their profession, Heiss says. "That's another thing that we like about graduates from the NMSU program," he says. "They tend to stay through thick and thin and be dedicated to their profession."

Even though hospitality and tourism programs are increasing, misconceptions still exist, MacHatton says. Many people believe the restaurant and hotel business is a low-wage, low-skills industry, and people do not need a college degree to manage.

"That perception is challenging, and what we've tried to do is show students that nothing is a guarantee," MacHatton says. "We tell them it's not about that piece of paper that you have. It's what's been going on while you are here. What you have learned about yourself, about other people, about your field, and what you take away that's going to make you a better manager and a better person. That's the biggest advantage."

The hospitality industry is becoming more professional, MacHatton says. A huge demand is emerging for well-educated managers and other professionals with specific knowledge and experience in the business.

"A quarter century ago, most managers worked their way up from the bottom level, which was often a long, laborious process," he says. Now, larger hotel and restaurant chains hire recent college graduates from hospitality programs and start them in management training. Within a year, they become assistant managers and eventually move up to general managers.

"My generation has degrees," says Shannon Vallez, catering manager at Las Cruces Hilton Inn. "Those before me earned their titles by coming up through the ranks. But you still need to know everyone's job and have worked in those positions because you're going to be the manager one day. People are not going to respect you if you don't have the experience."

Anything that doesn't occur on a day-to-day basis at the hotel, falls into Vallez' hands. "I handle anything from weddings to the Miss Teen USA Pageant, and I take care of everything the event involves - getting drinking water, setting up stages and displays, and crowd control."

Vallez learned about the hospitality and tourism program as a high school senior, attending a summer program at NMSU. She took a two-week course and was hooked.

"I took that class and said, 'That is what I want to do,'" she says. "It's like when you walk into a store and see a dress and know that's exactly what you want."

At NMSU, students like Vallez take courses in business to gain general accounting, economics, and marketing skills. Then, they take similar courses that are more hospitality specific. Detailed classes in cost control, food and beverage management, and hospitality law add just the right flavor to the overall program. Operational courses offer insight into front office management, and property operations - everything from air conditioning to housekeeping. Students study all aspects of hospitality until their senior year, when they concentrate more on their area of choice.

After taking a food and beverage course and receiving some training, Shannon Garton, general manager of the Blue Corn Cafe in Santa Fe, switched her major from convention planning to restaurants.

"When you're studying hospitality and tourism, they show you a little bit of everything that's going on," she says. "In higher-level classes, you do a lot of work outside the classroom in the school cafeteria and with hotels and restaurants in town on projects involving work in the kitchen and dealing with the management."

Garton says that she quickly learned what hospitality was all about. "I like making people happy and that is the biggest job," she says. "You have to be ready to please any customer that comes into your establishment."

No matter how much course work and training a student gets, the "hospitality attitude" is something that you just cannot teach, MacHatton and Moreo agree. The saying in the hospitality industry is that you "hire the smile." When new students come into the program, they are told the field involves intense contact with customers and employees. If they are not people-oriented and still want to stay in the program, they can choose another aspect of the business, such as accounting.

By the time they are juniors and seniors, prospective managers know the reasons people dine out - for nourishment, good food, good service, and a nice atmosphere that is worth the price, Moreo says. They have to be ready to train others and make sure these goals are met for every customer.

Rumor has it that HTS seniors display their best managing skills while preparing fine cuisine at their international dinners. MacHatton got the idea for the course, advanced restaurant operations, while receiving his master's degree at Purdue. The students work in teams, planning, preparing food, and supervising. Dinners sell out each year.

About 150 HTS alumni have jobs all over the country. Most of them work in New Mexico and other Western states, while others return to their homelands like Mexico and Japan.

After finishing the program, graduates find themselves working in supervisory positions at hotels, restaurants, convention and visitor's bureaus, universities, hospitals, and other institutions. "If they go to work for chain restaurant companies like TGI Friday's, Applebee's, or Chili's after graduation, it's very hard work," Moreo says. "But within three or four years, they can be making well over $50,000 a year."

Chad Gasper, general manager at Osteria d'Assisi in Santa Fe, has no complaints about his salary or position. He is what his fellow classmates would call a "foody," not a "roomy," because he prefers restaurants over hotels.

As customers arrive, Gasper quickly jumps from one role to another - a host seating a family of three, a cashier ringing up a customer's bill, and then, a manager chatting with employees in the kitchen about one of the house's popular Italian dishes.

Gasper worked at Santa Fe Dining's Music Hall for three years before returning to his first love at the young restaurant in the state's capital city.

"You're going to have so many wonderful customers, then you're always going to get the ones who don't want anything on your menu," Gasper says. "But you have to be able to accommodate them, and I can 90 percent of the time."

Gasper believes that keeping employees happy is one of the keys to successful management, especially in an industry where turnover can be more than 200 percent per year. "Working with employees as a part of the team, as well as a leader, is what helps keep good workers," he says. "There's no room to be on a power trip."

While HTS students receive ample training to land solid job offers, MacHatton says, there is a need to provide more opportunities for hands-on experience. Plans are underway to renovate and expand the snack bar in Gerald Thomas Hall into a full-service restaurant. Customers could select food from a cafeteria or snack bar, or dine in a restaurant setting. Students will take orders, prepare the food, and serve it. The concept is to provide a good learning experience for students, while contributing a service to the campus community.

"Most large hospitality programs, our size or larger, have a facility like this," MacHatton says. "We're one of the few that does not. So, we're very hopeful. Unfortunately, it requires a fair amount of money. We're probably looking at somewhere between half a million and $700,000 to do this, and money's tight."

Renovating the snack bar is only one goal. In the future, Moreo hopes the program will attract as many as 400 majors. "Our job is to educate people that there's a difference between service and servitude," he says. "We have to recruit and educate students on what this profession is about, particularly minorities and recent immigrants. We think we are pretty good at educating managers in one of the noblest and oldest professions in the world."