{"id":193324,"date":"2024-03-07T11:05:32","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T21:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=193324"},"modified":"2024-03-12T17:29:01","modified_gmt":"2024-03-13T03:29:01","slug":"hospitality-industry-alumni-share-insights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/03\/07\/hospitality-industry-alumni-share-insights\/","title":{"rendered":"Hospitality industry alumni share insights at Kapi\u02bbolani<\/span> CC<\/abbr>"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"six
Alum of the HOST<\/abbr> program spoke to current students about their experiences.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wade Takano attended Kapiʻolani<\/span> Community College<\/a> in 2002 after graduating from Mid-Pacific Institute, but quickly became much more enamored with the social aspect of college than the academic one.<\/p>\n

\"man
Hospitality and tourism education program alum Wade Takano.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He left and worked in the hospitality industry for 13 years before deciding to come back to school. Focused, he graduated in 2017 with a degree in Hospitality and Tourism Education<\/a> and a concentration in management. Today, Takano is a front office manager at the Wayfinder Waikiki Hotel and was a featured panelist at a Hospitality Leadership Forum in February hosted at Kapiʻolani<\/span> CC<\/abbr>, and made possible by the Kitaro Watanabe Tourism Training Series Endowment as part of a series of events celebrating National Career and Technical Education Month.<\/p>\n

“My journey, actually coming back to school in my early 30s, it took a lot of courage for me to realize that I wanted to be in the hospitality industry,” Takano said. “And the faculty and staff did a great job just sharing their experiences with me and really putting the focus that this is where I want to be. Truly, I think, in my life, this is the best decision I’ve ever made, coming back to school.”<\/p>\n

It made me inspired to want to do what I want, especially in the travel industry.
—Junell Escobar<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Takano and fellow hospitality and tourism program<\/a> alumni Noriko Bergstrom (Hawaiian Airlines), Miyuki Clancey (Hawaiian Airlines), Sisilia “Sisi” Poʻoi<\/span> (Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Convention Center), Jacki Slaton (Sheraton Waikiki Beach Resort) and Jasmine Tamanaha (Hawaiian Airlines), touched on a number of topics, including their unique career paths, leadership qualities they look for in themselves and others, and education advice.<\/p>\n

“As I listened to the panel and all the good advice I heard, it made me inspired to want to do what I want, especially in the travel industry,” said Kapiʻolani<\/span> CC<\/abbr> student Junell Escobar.<\/p>\n

\"woman
Hospitality and tourism education program alum Jasmine Tamanaha (Hawaiian Airlines).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kapiʻolani<\/span> CC<\/abbr>\u2019s Hospitality and Tourism Education department is the largest community college program in the state and aims to support workforce development for Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> largest industry.<\/p>\n

“The tourism industry is one that\u2019s always changing, so you\u2019ve just got to take a risk and you\u2019ve just got to learn to adapt with the industry,” said Slaton, a 2018 graduate who is now a guest service manager at Sheraton Waikiki Beach Resort. “The tourism industry is here to stay, especially in the state of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and learning new things.”<\/p>\n

—By Kim Baxter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students heard from industry veterans at the Kapioʻlani<\/span> CC<\/abbr> Hospitality Leadership Forum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[90,1613,63,71],"class_list":["post-193324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-alumni","tag-hospitality-and-tourism","tag-kapiolani-community-college","tag-uh-community-colleges","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t