I have spent my entire career in the hospitality business and I wouldn’t have it any other way. If you love people and a fast-paced environment, the industry may be for you. To help students further their studies in the field, The Bernards Inn offers year-round internships to qualified candidates.
It is very rewarding to mentor a student in the hospitality field of study. Each year we offer internships in our Catering Sales and Banquet Departments. The internship is designed to offer a well-rounded experience for a young professional. The student has the opportunity to learn from seasoned professionals at the highest level. Here’s what one of our talented interns, Michelle Cannon, had to say about the experience:
Intern Michelle Cannon
I go to a hospitality school where you spend twenty hours a week in classrooms, five hours in professors’ office hours, and countless hours on homework and group projects. Every lecture, assignment, and exam prepares us for the hospitality world that we will enter shortly after graduation. Last summer, however, I had my first realization of the role classroom knowledge will play in my career. At school, I am learning a business / service mindset that will help me solve problems, keep a positive yet realistic attitude, and serve clients better. My time as a Sales and Banquet Intern at The Bernards Inn gave me first-hand knowledge of the process by observing client consultations and manager meetings, working as a banquet server for all different types of events, and accomplishing daily and summer-long projects.
My main project was working on a Competitive Set Report which involved requesting pricing and offering information from similar wedding venues as the Inn. At the end of the summer, I presented my findings and analysis to the Management Team. There was no rubric, no other students’ projects to compare my results to, and no textbook to refer to. However, the project required me to call upon skills from a core freshman course at school, Managerial Communication, such as PowerPoint presentation etiquette to effectively convey my ideas. It was a real world project that did not count for a grade, but rather something I wanted to challenge myself to do well on. This project and others that I worked on throughout the summer were the perfect bridge between my technical knowledge from school and a real world career in the near future.
Thank you to The Bernards Inn for giving me this fantastic opportunity!
Michelle Cannon
School of Hotel Administration 2013
Cornell University
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