Summary of Highlights

The tabs at the top of this page will lead you to various aspects of my collegiate career that I have chosen to highlight. The tabs above tell a story of how I pushed fear aside and opened the door to what became an opportunity.

From August 2013 to December 2016, I completed all the requirements necessary to obtain my Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management-Emphasis in Meetings and Events. The program emphasizes the significance of both leadership and management within the world of hospitality requiring both hospitality and business courses. This portfolio gave me the opportunity to reflect on the past and my experiences in leadership. I have improved personally, academically, and professionally. Thanks to this great program and its faculty and staff, I am fully prepared for a successful career.
 
Please take the time and explore my portfolio and get a better understanding of my leadership journey here at State. Use the tabs above to discover what moments have shaped my path from fears to opportunities.
 
LEADERSHIP COURSEWORK
See how this program has prepared me for a future in the hospitality industry. In this section, you can see what specific class and project made a special impact in my academic career.

WORK EXPERIENCE
In this tab, you can read about how my current work experience has tested my leadership character. My time as a Meeting Planner has helped shape my confidence.
 
INDUSTRY CONNECTION
This section talks about my professional network. You can get a better understanding on how I expanded my network through LinkedIn.
 
LEADING IN ACTION
Here, you can discover what specific experience triggered my leadership traits. Serving on an executive board on a campus organization helped me lead in action.
 
PROMISING PITFALLS
This is an essential part of my portfolio as you will learn how an area of weakness pushed me to be a better person and leader. Read about the time where I went through a hardship, but turns out, it was actually a blessing in disguise.
 
MORE
In this section, you can discover both my fun and professional side. Through photos you can explore my year abroad din France and view my attached resume. I talk about an enjoyable moment and attached my resume.

Leadership Journey

My leadership journey truly began in San Diego at San Diego State University. At eighteen, I was once again leaving home, far from my little hometown in Pennsylvania. I still remember clicking “commit” on my laptop screen, my heart beating fast, as my intent to enroll got sent. I was an adult. I was a freshman in college and would be uprooting my life to San Diego, where I’ve only visited twice before. From my time at San Diego State University, I’ve learned the value of turning fear into opportunities. To me, this means putting aside excuses, worries, and any preconceived ideas, to accept a challenge that can lead to greater things…an opportunity. This opportunity may not be what you have always dreamed of or even what you wanted, but an opportunity is a stepping stone into a direction that will shape your life forever.

Fear can keep you from taking action. People fear failure because they don’t really know what it is. When you turn fear into opportunities, oftentimes you realize that there was no real reason to fear to begin with and you realize just how much you would have missed out on if you never accepted the opportunity in the first place. Throughout my educational experience at San Diego State University and my career development before and during college, I have really grown to appreciate the closing of some doors and the opening of others.

From my freshman year to my senior year, I have always stayed involved on campus. Some of my roles included Vice President of Internal Affairs for PSFA Civil Core, President of Delta Epsilon Iota Academic Honor Society, as well as being an active member of Circle K, multiple honor societies, and SDSU Ambassadors. My time at San Diego State University has shaped me into the leader I am today through coursework, work experience, networking, leadership experiences, pitfalls, and my study abroad in France. Leadership is a difficult concept to define, and to me, is better fulfilled through actions. My personal life and educational experiences have helped me grow to be a more confident and more adaptable role model. I have learned to accept that not everything goes my way, appreciate what good things I have in life, and adjust to every situation by removing negativity and turning fear in opportunities.

The HTM program at State revolves around projects aimed at progressing a student’s leadership abilities. These projects, whether group or individual, though difficult at times, have challenged me to think a different way or work with others I wouldn’t have chosen to before. My HTM 480, Leadership Experience blog was one of those projects. I feared missing class and what the opportunity truly was that I almost missed out on a great leadership opportunity that in the end helped build my career to where I am today. Through my work experience, I have taken on supervisory roles and have traveled to programs that I was scared to take on. Though taking on my new position as a full-time Meeting Planner overwhelmed me, I jumped into the position feet first. Networking is core competency apart of the HTM curriculum. Getting involved and attending networking events are ways that I have grown my network and has helped me meet people who have given me just some of the great opportunities that have shaped my career and industry connections. Taking all of these experiences into account, I have dived into practicing my leadership in action through various volunteering opportunities and leadership roles on campus. My leadership journey has not been easy. Through various pitfalls including not getting certain jobs to struggling with multitasking and managing a healthy work-life balance, I have learned that these pitfalls are truly areas of opportunities. And lastly, my year abroad in France was a leap of faith. I was sixteen and this was my first time away from home and my first time on a plane. I feared everything from the boarding plane process to how my life would play out in France with host families I had never met before. The whole idea was unsettling. Four months into my trip, I was situated at school, taking the same tests as other French students, and eating lunch with them as though I belonged. The foods that I was not accustomed to became a norm, and the cultural cuisine of escargot became a favorite. I stood on top of Mont Blanc, peering down at the specks of skiers below, before hurdling down the slopes myself, my first time ever skiing. It was clear that as the nostalgia of home faded, life became surprisingly normal.

Turning fear into opportunities is a lot like my year abroad in France. It is all about change. Adaptability is a trait that I have developed along my leadership journey. Adaptability is a contemporary leadership theory that I feel fits me best as all leaders should be flexible in their leadership style as all situations change and followers have various needs that need to be respected by leaders. You are never prepared for change and there will never be a perfect time to experience it. Change is not like a sense. Dealing with it is not something that comes naturally, but more of something that is better practiced.

Without saying “yes” to various opportunities throughout my leadership journey, I would have lost out on growing my career, meeting new people, learning more about myself, and experiencing other cultures and change. When you stop fearing or making excuses, you realize how much more life has to offer. In the end, these experiences have challenged me to go out of my comfort zone and take a road I may or may not have traveled on.