On Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil wasn’t the only one to see his shadow. Hundreds of employees for the Starwood Hotel and Resorts chain saw shadows, too, in the form of high school students who observed them at work Friday on national “2001 Groundhog Job Shadow Day.”
While the groundhog’s shadow signaled bad news–six more weeks of winter–the job-shadowing program could be great news for some of America’s future workers. More than 1,400 students participating at 90 Starwood hotels nationwide were exposed to the opportunities offered in the hospitality industry.
It’s a career many of them admit they’d never thought about.
“You never know how an experience will affect a student,” said Chicago School Board President Gery Chico, who addressed 33 students from Schurz High School on the Northwest Side at a luncheon at the downtown Sheraton Hotel and Tower on Friday. “Most of these kids have no concept what this business is about.”
On Friday, the students, some dressed as chefs, bellhops and doormen, learned things about the hotel business they’d never imagined. The biggest shock was the sheer enormity of a hotel operation. The Sheraton employs 680 people, and the students learned that all of these workers’ jobs are necessary links in the chain that makes the busy hotel steam engine move forward.
“They’re busy all the time,” said Kathy Velazquez, 16, a junior, who spent the afternoon with employees in the banquets department. “They don’t have time to talk.”
“It’s something we never thought of doing,” said Rosalinda Gonzalez, 16, a junior who spent the afternoon in the systems department, which is responsible for the operations of the hotel. “It’s a whole new experience.”
The Schurz students, 10th- and 11th-graders who are enrolled in a three-year computer technology course at the school taught by Mary Young, observed hotel employees in the following departments: banquets, bell services, the business center, the concierge and reception desks, engineering, room service, the kitchen, catering/convention, housekeeping, laundry and communications.
Before Job Shadow Day, Young asked the students to assess their career goals and possibilities. She said she is preparing them to earn certification in Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point, which could put their starting salaries at $28,000 a year.
“The purpose of the program is to tie in what they learn in school in the job world,” said James Lewis, who coordinates junior and senior academy curriculum at Schurz.
Other Starwood hotels in the Chicago area participating in Job Shadow Day include the Westin O’Hare, the Westin Michigan Avenue and the Westin River North.
At breakfast Friday at the Sheraton, students didn’t quite know what to expect from the day.
“Maybe I’ll learn something that’ll help me get a job,” said Speed Brisbon, a 17-year-old junior who said he’d like to earn his master’s in computer science.
But after two hours of shadowing and a behind-the-scenes tour of the hotel, they returned with smiles and ideas about future job opportunities. The hotel kitchen was a huge hit with students, who got a first-hand glimpse from executive chef Bernhard Gotz.
Taking a queue from Chico to “go that extra mile,” several students approached the hotel’s general manager after lunch to ask about internships.
Veronica Hidalgo, 16, a sophomore, wants to be a psychologist, but her gregarious personality might make her ripe for a hotel internship.
“I like helping people out with their problems,” she said.
Starwood hotels offer internships to college students. But there are lots of opportunities for high school graduates in the hospitality industry as well.
“There are many stories of people who didn’t go beyond high school who became leaders in this business,” said Michael Miner, vice president and managing director of Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ 11 Chicago-area properties. “We encourage people to work their way up.”
Starting salaries for entry level positions range from $17,000 to $20,000 a year with a high school diplomas, and $35,000 to $38,000 a year with a college degree, Miner said.
