Ten Hospitality students, accompanied by academic advisor Joseph Naylor, last week attended the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality 20th Anniversary Conference in Greensboro, N.C., where one of the students was elected to a national office.The conference was highlighted by an NSMH Career Fair, where students got the chance to be recruited by top diversity firms. Also provided for the students were networking suites, where students got the chance to network with top minority recruiters, and a “resume-ready room,” where students were furnished with resume paper and could do last-minute edits and printouts of their resumes.
Grambling State student Salwa Williams was elected national secretary of the organization.
NSMH is the premier professional organization dedicated to developing minority student talent and leadership.
Other major features of the conference included a welcome reception, where the NSMH founding members were honored; numerous professional workshops; resume critiques; and mock interviews.
NSMH Chapter awards were presented, and each university represented at the conference had a chance to display its scrapbook and vote for the chapter of their choice. The best scrapbook award was won by Cornell University NSHM.
An awards gala was followed by a second-chance prom event.
GSU students were very actively involved in the conference, from voicing concerns critical to minorities in hospitality to volunteering with the second prom event coordination, and from booking sought-after interviews to forging alliances with major industry partners.
While the conference was admittedly fulfilling to all the attendees, GSU participants say they came away with a certain drive to strive harder to achieve more this year so that Grambling would emerge even more victorious during next year’s national conference.
In addition to Williams, students who attended the conference were Valda Blackmoore, Cameron Butler, Livingston Cooper, Elic Cottingham, Christel Eugene, Reginald Gaines, Staci Hall, Olivia Samuel, and Fontaine Townsend.
The annual event, which was hosted Feb. 12-15 at the Four Seasons Sheraton Hotel, was sponsored by major industry leaders, including Walt Disney, Sodexo, Aramark, Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Cornell University, Darden Restaurants, Dave and Busters, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Omni Hotels, Papas Restaurant, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, and Marriott International.