By: Mary Jane George

    Tourism and Hospitality students need to be aware of the opportunities and information that has been made available to them by the RHIT department to enhance their knowledge in our field. Do you know where to get it?

    In the ET building, 2nd floor, in front of rooms 202 & 201. There are bulletin boards and magazine racks that give students a plethora of information concerning each segment of the Tourism Industry.

    The magazine “Travel Holiday” takes your mind far away from a 1999 winter blast. With spring break only 8 weeks away the thoughts of sun and sand can be very appealing. Whether you like activities from dusk to dawn or prefer to chill on the beach, you can search for destinations and hotel suited to your desires as well as your budget with just a flip of the page.

    You can find tips on how to avoid disasters when vacationing abroad. Also, you can check out why you should choose a higher class hotel and why you may not be able to use your debit card while traveling. The magazine also looks at best buys and information about tourist traps.

    Another idea for those who desire a career in Hotel Management is the Lodging Hospitality magazine. Whether you want to manage a 5 star hotel or you’ve been planning to own a small bed and breakfast, this magazine will help you make pertinent decisions as you review customers wants and needs throughout the articles. Lodging Hospitality walks you through marketing, operation strategies and how to make it through the highs and lows of the ever-changing market. New innovations are discussed to help you give the customer the best service available.

    Maybe your future is in restaurant management or in culinary arts. There are several magazines on display just for you. Menu preparation, food testing and a list of who’s who in the restaurant field are all topics in magazines such as Restaurants and Institutions, Food Technology, Food Product Design and Food Testing and Analysis. You can be very specific as you search for your particular interest. From soup to profit margins, you can get superior ideas on cooking and management, food safety, meal preparations and menu ideas. Learn how to control costs yet give your customers new specialty drinks and dishes to keep them coming back. Remember good service “outsells” any specialty item you could include on your menu.

    Haven’t struck a cord with your particular needs yet? Wow! How about research in consumer family sciences? This journal is designed to help you and your company move into the next millennium with the right vision. A number of articles discuss effective parenting and ethics leadership within a family core will build the foundation to give families the balance they need to deal with the ever conflicting dilemmas within our communities in this ever changing world we live in.

    Yes! It all comes down to who you are and what you are looking for as well as where you intend to go from here. Manager, Sous Chef or Scientist, you make the choices and the RHIT department will provide you with material to enlighten your senses, find you the sun and sea or tickle your taste buds and give you an abundant amount of food for thought as you come to your own conclusions about what is best for you.

Do I Have the Experience I Need?
By: Lindsey Thomas

    Any job in the tourism and hospitality industry can be a good learning experience. Students who want hands-on training in this field might consider pursuing a more formal working arrangement, such as an apprenticeship, an internship or shadowing.

    These three methods all offer good on-the-job training, but they are not interchangeable. Each offers its own benefits and is appropriate for different objectives and at different levels in your career.

    An apprenticeship is an individual arrangement -between a beginner and someone at the expert level in a field, such as a restaurant manager. Apprenticeships are mutually advantageous relationships that allow the beginners to learn while assisting the experts. A student can find an apprenticeship through the workplace, networking or even the want ads. An apprenticeship can be a good choice for a student who lacks formal training, or is unable to afford tuition or simply wants to specialize in a specific field. Apprenticeships enable the student to jump right into a career and start earning money immediately. One downfall is that the wages may be low throughout the apprenticeship time.

    Students who are currently enrolled in classes may want to consider signing up for an internship, also known as an externship. Internships are offered for credit and are a graduation requirement.

    These arrangements between a student, a school and a “property” (a restaurant, hotel or other entity) can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few terms. Students may work in one department or they may rotate through several positions.

    Internships allow students to gain experience in management, to explore their likes and dislikes, and to impress potential employers. One of the few drawbacks to such an arrangement is the cost of travel and lodging when an internship is in a distant city, although a few properties-such as cruise ships or resorts-provide rooms to interns.

    Shadowing is a short-term situation that serves as a pre-interview. Here, a potential employee, usually with experience and/or education, contacts a potential employer, such as a chef, and asks permission to come and observe his or her operation. In exchange, the potential employee offers to help out, showing off his or her skills in the process.

    This arrangement allows each party to study the other in action, not just across the desk. In shadowing, the main concern for employers and student is liability and lack of workers’ compensation benefits if an injury occurs.

    The most important consideration when entering into an apprenticeship, internship or shadowing agreement is who will be in charge, because the quality of a learning experience is so dependent upon who is doing the teaching.
Words of Wisdom: Experience does make the best teacher.

Sixth Annual Stergiopoulos Scholarship Event

    The RHIT Department in association with the Greek Islands Restaurant is sponsoring the sixth annual scholarship fund raising event. The proceeds will be used to increase the endowed EIias and Fofo Stergiopoulos Scholarship Fund, which provides one or more scholarships to qualified RHIT students. The event will be held on April 18, 1999 from 2:00 - 5:00 pm at the Greek Islands Restaurant, 906 S. Meridian Street.

    The menu is: Greek Salad, Gyros, Santorini Potatoes~ Pasticchio, Baklava, and drink. The cost is $30.00 per person paid in advance. Please make checks payable to: IU Foundation, account # 37-P013-06-5. For reservations, call Pat May at 274-2599 or e-mail pmay@iupui.edu.