Tatiana Baena, 16, a senior at Central Falls High School, said she chose a career path in hospitality because she could see how getting a degree in that field might lead to a viable job.
She understood that more clearly after enrolling in her high school’s hotel/lodging academy, which recently sent about 20 students on a day-long tour of the R.I. Convention Center, the Westin Providence Hotel, the Renaissance Providence Hotel and the Providence Performing Arts Center.
The students were participating in Groundhog Job Shadow Day organized by Junior Achievement of Rhode Island (JA) to kickoff the nonprofit’s job-shadow programming for the year, said Lee Lewis, president of the JA executive committee.
About 3,000 students will participate in job-shadow programs by the end of the year, Lewis said. JA is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.
“Right now we see a need [for employees] in the hospitality industry,” Lewis said, adding that’s why JA chose hotels and the convention center as venues for the job-shadow day.
JA uses analysis generated by the R.I. Department of Labor and Training to determine which industries might have more jobs and not enough qualified workers in coming years, he said. The JA job-shadow programs fall under the work-readiness category for middle and high school students who already show interest in particular industries.
This year’s Groundhog Job Shadow programming involved students pretending to be meeting-and-convention professionals visiting Providence to see what kind of facilities could accommodate a 600-person soccer convention.
Jane Bernardino, teacher of the Central Falls High School class, said she gave each student a budget for the mock convention and guidelines before they went on the tours so that they could be prepared to ask questions and think about which would be the best venues.
She says the project will be a perfect addition to the students’ senior portfolios, which they must complete in order to graduate, she said, adding that Sandra Tremblay, a professor at Johnson & Wales University, helped create the guidelines for students.
After visiting the Westin and Renaissance hotels, Baena said she would probably choose the Westin as the hotel where convention attendees would stay because it is closer to the convention center, which is large enough to accommodate 600 people for meetings, receptions and a farewell dinner.
“The thing with [the Renaissance] hotel is there’s not enough room,” she said. “That’s the only thing I didn’t like about the hotel.”
Baena learned while touring the hotel with Tom Riel, director of marketing and communications for the hotel, that the Renaissance can seat only 340 people for dinner in its ballroom. Though Riel explained how the hotel will use any space available, including the presidential suite, eight meeting rooms of various sizes and various other spaces, to accommodate guests’ needs, Baena wasn’t sure it was the right fit.
What did impress Baena and other students throughout the day was learning about how many executive-level employees in the hospitality industry started at the bottom and worked their way up.
Riel, for example, told the students he started in the industry as a flight attendant. Martha Sheridan, president and CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau, told the students she started as a tour guide for The Breakers mansion in Newport.
“You never know where an opportunity will lead you,” Sheridan added.
Ashley Depina, 18, said she hears those kinds of things in class all the time, but to meet examples of people who have accomplished it helps in deciding what path to choose. “I learned you could go far.” •
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