News for the Hospitality Executive |
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The University of Houston Conrad N. Hilton College of
Hotel and Restaurant Management
Provides Students with Intership Opportunities All Over
the World
Gives Students Advantage When it Comes to Competing for Industry Jobs
HOUSTON, August 30, 2007 � Casinos, hunting ranches, luxurious
resorts and top-rated restaurants aren�t just vacation destinations.
They also are student internship destinations at the University of Houston
Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management. And
one of the hottest requests: the United Arab Emirates.
�We try to match our students with internships in places where they want to be,� said Jason Finehout, internship coordinator for the college. �This creates a lot of enthusiasm. Students tell me where they dream of going, and I try to make it happen.� Tamer Elkhayat, a junior at the college, recognized the burgeoning resort area of Dubai and suggested the college consider placing interns at the Beach Rotana Hotel and Resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), a growing hospitality hot spot. One student spent two and a half months there. More interns will follow. �Students can really learn a lot. The place is a small city that
has a lot of potential,� Elkhayat said. �Everything they do
is to the extreme. The biggest corporations are there, creating more
and more job opportunities for people.�
Hospitality student Britton Douglass wanted to learn about the making
of scotch whiskey. He asked for and received an internship at the
Gleneagles Hotels in Scotland to learn about the craft from the master
distiller one week a month during his six-month internship. In addition
to learning about various positions at the hotel, he�s learning about the
distillation process of whiskey and the art of wine and spirits presentation.
There are challenges about interning abroad, including language barriers
that can add to the sense of isolation students may feel in a foreign country.
But Finehout is hopeful that as these internships become more accessible,
students will factor in that challenge and focus on the real learning experience
that it is.
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Contact:
M a r i s a R a m i r e z
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