{"id":6734,"date":"2022-08-10T21:52:10","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T21:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/academics.otc.edu\/cul-hsm\/?page_id=6734"},"modified":"2023-06-28T19:02:17","modified_gmt":"2023-06-28T19:02:17","slug":"otc-graduate-thrives-in-her-hospitality-career","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/academics.otc.edu\/cul-hsm\/otc-graduate-thrives-in-her-hospitality-career\/","title":{"rendered":"OTC graduate thrives in her hospitality career"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”6739″ img_size=”full”][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

For a young person who spent their entire life in the Ozarks, the chance to leave home for college is enticing; but for many students, leaving their hometown isn\u2019t as satisfying as they\u2019d hoped.<\/p>\n

When she graduated from Parkview in 2015, Megan Dean followed the siren song of bright lights and the big city to the University of Missouri\u2013Kansas City.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I was going to be that person who was going to leave Springfield and never come back,\u201d Megan said.<\/p>\n

However, after an unfulfilling semester at UMKC, Megan came back to Springfield unsure of her future.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Megan completed the A+ state scholarship program requirements in high school, which pays tuition and fees at any community college in Missouri. The following fall, in 2016, Megan enrolled at OTC.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018You know what, I don\u2019t know what I want to do, I\u2019ll use my A+. Maybe while I\u2019m at OTC, I can figure out what I want to do,\u2019\u201d Megan said.<\/p>\n

To help her decide on a program, Megan would look through the catalog and read course descriptions. When she came across Introduction to Hospitality, she thought that would fit her personality because, as she puts it, \u201cI always like making other people\u2019s day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Megan was right. Hospitality management<\/a> fit her personality, and she quickly made it her program of study. Thanks to her instructors\u2019 connections with employers in the community, Megan met several O\u2019Reilly Hospitality executives who came to speak to her classes. During one of those visits, the assistant general manager from the DoubleTree gave Megan his card and told her to come by some time for an interview. On the day of her graduation in May of 2019, Megan took him up on his offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe morning I graduated, I took a tour of the hotel and convention facilities at the DoubleTree,\u201d Megan said. \u201cAfter that, he told me, \u2018Fill out all of your paperwork, and you\u2019re hired.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Megan was excited about the opportunity because she found everyone at DoubleTree had great enthusiasm for their job, and they were super passionate. Plus, the position had room for growth, and Megan quickly moved up the ladder going from banquet server to lead banquet server and, later, overnight banquet captain. Then in February of 2020, she was named sales coordinator. A month later, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted everyone\u2019s business due to cancellations. Still, Megan persisted and, today, she\u2019s one of the catering sales managers, which feeds her desire to help people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI book meetings, events and conferences of all sizes, and It\u2019s my job to make sure everything is perfect,\u201d Megan said.<\/p>\n

Megan graduated from OTC debt-free, and she\u2019s flourishing in her career. She has some advice for other high schoolers who think they want to get out of town or aren\u2019t sure what they want to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo ahead and use your A+ and don\u2019t be afraid to take a class you\u2019re not sure of because who knows?\u201d Megan said. \u201cJust follow your heart and do something that makes you happy and makes you excited to go to work every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Category:\u00a0Blog: Around The College<\/a><\/span> \u2022 By\u00a0MARK MILLER<\/span><\/a> \u2022

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”6739″ img_size=”full”][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] For a young person who spent their entire life in the Ozarks, the chance to leave home for college is enticing; but for many students, leaving their hometown isn\u2019t as satisfying as they\u2019d hoped. When she graduated from Parkview in 2015, Megan Dean followed the siren song of bright lights and the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6734","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","description-off"],"yoast_head":"\nOTC graduate thrives in her hospitality career - OTC Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"OTC graduate thrives in her hospitality career - Megan graduated from OTC debt-free, and she\u2019s flourishing in her career.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/academics.otc.edu\/cul-hsm\/otc-graduate-thrives-in-her-hospitality-career\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"OTC graduate thrives in her hospitality career - 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