Networking event brings global executives to recruit best and brightest hospitality management major

Griffin, Margaret

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eGrove (Univ. of Mississippi)

University of Mississippi eGrove University of Mississippi News 3-4-2018 Alumnus Helps Connect UM Students to Luxury Travel Industry Margaret Griffin Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/umnews Recommended Citation Griffin, Margaret, "Alumnus Helps Connect UM Students to Luxury Travel Industry" (2018). University of Mississippi News. 289. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/umnews/289 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Mississippi News by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact egrove@olemiss.edu. Search this website … SearchJames Strong (left), a 2015 graduate of the UMhospitality management program, reconnects withfaculty and students, including lecturer Candis Varnell,at the 2018 Talent Engagement Pursui. UM photo bySarah SappAlumnus Helps Connect UM Students to Luxury TravelIndustryNetworking event brings global executives to recruit best and brightesthospitality management majorsMARCH 4, 2018 BY MARGARET GRIFFINOXFORD, Miss. – University of Mississippihospitality management students recentlyspent a day making valuable connections withofficials from the luxury travel industry, thanks tothe efforts of a UM alumnus and his father, aprominent travel agency executive.Jim Strong, president and owner of Strong TravelServices in Dallas, organized the 2018 TalentEngagement Pursuit, a networking andeducational event at the Graduate Hotel, inpartnership with the travel consortium firmVirtuoso. Strong Travel Services has been amember of Virtuoso for 30 years.Some 50 students met with industry leaders from across the nation at the event, which providedinformation on internships and careers in the luxury travel industry. Jim Strong was on hand, along withson James Strong, who has worked for his father since graduating from the UM hospitality program in2015.“I believe this event was a huge success for us, the travel executives and the students,” James Strongsaid. “This was a great opportunity for students to come out and learn more about the travel industry,potential internships and job opportunities.”The luxury travel industry provides fairly new and unique career opportunities in comparison to thetypical travel industry, said Mary Roseman, professor and director of the Ole Miss hospitalitymanagement program. Luxury travel is more exotic and complex, she said, noting the importance ofstudents experiencing networking events such as this to fully understand those benefits.“We are very fortunate to have a premier company, such as Strong Travel, so invested in our hospitalitymanagement program and willing to provide special opportunities for our students,” Roseman said.“Today the hospitality industry, like many other industries, is all about networking.”Cindy Choi, assistant professor of nutrition and hospitality management, advises students to focus onthe uniqueness of the luxury travel industry.“In order to find a career in luxury travel, students should understand the needs and wants of the luxurytravelers, which are very different from regular travelers,” Choi said. “In order to gain the knowledge,taking classes related to luxury travel, such as Service Quality Management and Hospitality Marketing,would be a good idea.”Virtuoso works with Strong Travel and other travel agencies to promote and market their services.Christy Green, regional sales director for Virtuoso in Fort Worth, Texas, was among the industry leaderswho attended the 2018 Travel Engagement Pursuit.Her firm, along with the entire industry, is actively seeking new talent, Green said. Every summer,Virtuoso hosts a networking event for students in Las Vegas called Virtuoso Travel Week, often relyingon Strong and other industry leaders to bring new people to learn about the industry’s opportunities andprograms.Strong Travel sponsors a small group of Ole Miss students and a faculty member to attend VirtuosoTravel Week each year.Claire McCraw, a senior hospitality management major at Ole Miss, attended last summer’s event.Read the story …Read the story …Follow us on socialCampus BriefsCivil Engineering Professor ReceivesMost-Cited Paper AwardOXFORD, Miss. – Peer recognition is arewarding experience for anyone, butUniversity of Mississippi researcher AmirMehrara Molan was elated when an articlehe co-authored recently received the MostCited Paper Award at the102nd Transportation Research Boardmeeting in the nation’s capital. TheInternational Journal of TransportationScience and Technology presented the civilengineeringMore Posts from this CategoryThank You To OurDonorsYoung Alumna Gives Back to Schoolof AccountancyOXFORD, Miss. – Stephanie JenningsTeague, of Chicago, sees her commitmentof $100,000 to the Patterson School ofAccountancy‘s new building at theUniversity of Mississippi as a means ofsaying “thank you.” “It is a way to show asmall token of my appreciation to OleMiss, the faculty and staff, and theaccountingMore Posts from this CategoryOle Miss In the NewsReuters: Keep an Eye on the MoneySupplyU.S. inflation roller coaster prompts freshlook at long-ignored money supply ByMichael S. Derby NEW YORK – Theamount of money sloshing around the U.S.economy shrank last year for the first timeon record, a development that someeconomists believe bolsters the case forU.S. inflation pressures continuing toNews Releases UM COVID-19 Video Gallery University Communications Ole Miss Homepage Ole Miss News BlogFacebookTwitterLin edInEmailCopyLinkSMSPrintFriendlySharFacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedInYouTubeChannel“For four days we had the opportunity to interact with thousands of professionals who were helpful ingiving us information about the travel industry,” McCraw said. “It was an unforgettable experience, and Iam so thankful that I got to be a part of it.”Strong Travel sells more than $50 million of travel services annually. The company’s employeesconstantly travel the world to build relationships and experience all aspects of trips they couldpotentially sell.“The key to our success is matching the right client to the right product,” Jim Strong said. “Strong Traveltakes several trips a year to go out and experience the products. I recently took four team members toLondon for about three days, and we saw 26 hotels.“Being able to understand the hotel, products, ambiance, stature and location at the luxury level is hugewhen talking to the client making selections.”James Strong decided to study hospitality management at UM after growing up in Dallas surrounded bythe travel business. While earning his degree, he completed several internships around the world thathelped prepare him for his career.“I interned in London at the Corinthia Hotel as a junior butler for four months, which was great exposureto that side of the hotel industry,” James Strong said. He also interned at a tourism agency in Istanbuland later at the Courtyard by Marriott in Oxford.Jim Strong said he continues to visit and support UM because is responsive to emphasizing andhighlighting the sale and promotion of travel. He said he enjoys being a part of the campus life and feedsoff the energy in the classrooms.Many students are seeking internships and jobs related to luxury travel or travel agencies after beinginspired by Strong’s networking events and class visits, Choi said.For more information about the hospitality management program, email Mary Roseman atmroseman@olemiss.edu or visit http://nhm.olemiss.edu/.FILED UNDER: NEWS RELEASES, SCHOOL OF APPLIED SCIENCESRead the story …abate. The Federal Reserve’sMore Posts from this CategoryRetu rn  to  to p  o f  p a ge Copyright © 2023 · Th e Un iversity  o f  M ississ ip p i

Alumnus Helps Connect UM Students to Luxury Travel Industry

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Alumnus Helps Connect UM Students to Luxury Travel Industry

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