Insights on Internships from Professor Jones (IOI)

Megan Reissig, Director of Event Planning at W Seattle, shares how multiple internships across hotels and destination marketing helped shape her career path in hospitality. From front desk operations to event leadership, Megan reflects on the value of gaining diverse experience, understanding hotel operations end-to-end, and building a people-first mindset in the industry.

📌 Key Takeaways:

• Megan’s experience shows that exploring different roles through internships helps clarify career direction, especially in a broad field like hospitality.
•  Her time in smaller hotels taught her that hands-on, cross-functional experience builds confidence and prepares you to handle real-world challenges.
•  She emphasizes that understanding multiple departments is critical, especially for roles like event planning that require coordination across the entire hotel.
•  Megan highlights that work-life balance is becoming a bigger priority in hospitality, with the industry evolving post-pandemic to better support employees.
•  She encourages students to speak up and advocate for their learning opportunities, ensuring they get the most out of internship and training programs.

Nicholas Ong, Manager of Revenue Strategy & Field Support (APEC) at Marriott International, shares how his internship journey—from hotel operations to STR data analytics—shaped a career in revenue management. Nicholas reflects on the importance of curiosity, adaptability, and continuous learning, while offering practical insights into how data, pricing strategy, and technology are transforming today’s hospitality industry.

📌 Key Takeaways:

• Nicholas’s career path highlights that strong internship performance and reputation can open unexpected doors, including referrals that lead directly to future roles.
•  His experience shows that being a sponge and continuously learning is essential to gaining value from internships and building long-term career momentum.
•  He emphasizes that teamwork and relationship-building are critical skills, as connections made during internships often influence future opportunities.
•  Nicholas points out that data analytics and visualization tools like Power BI, SQL, and Tableau are becoming essential skills for today’s hospitality professionals.
•  His journey into revenue management demonstrates that understanding pricing strategy and market positioning is key to driving business performance in modern hotels.

Francisco Carrasco, Vice President of Sales at FXAIR and proud SF State alumnus, shares how a foundation in hospitality led to success in luxury aviation. From internships at Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton to leading client relationships in private aviation, Francisco reflects on the lessons that shaped his mindset, leadership, and lifelong commitment to service excellence.

📌  Key Takeaways:

•  Francisco’s journey shows that opportunities open doors, but it is the intern’s initiative and follow-through that truly determines success.
• His broad exposure to multiple hotel departments taught him that diverse operational experience builds confidence and deepens understanding of how a hotel really works.
• He emphasizes that mastering the basics is essential, because strong fundamentals in operations provide the foundation for long-term career growth in any sector.
• His transition from hotels to private aviation reinforced that service recovery and human connection matter everywhere, whether solving a guest issue or managing a disrupted flight.
• Francisco’s career demonstrates that hospitality skills are highly transferable, enabling professionals to thrive well beyond hotels while still serving people at the highest level.

Christina Tang, Senior Human Resources Manager at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Downtown SOMA, shares her journey from hospitality student at San Francisco State University to a long-standing HR leader. In this episode, Christina reflects on how her internships shaped her career path, the lessons she learned working in union hotels, and her insights on guiding the next generation of hospitality professionals.

📌 Key Takeaways:

•  Two internships — one rotational and one project-based — helped Christina discover her passion for human resources and set her career direction early.
• Working in union hotels taught her structure, fairness, and how standardized systems build confidence in complex operations.
• As a mentor, she emphasizes giving interns a full-cycle HR experience, from recruiting and onboarding to handling real-world challenges.
• Christina sees both promise and risk in AI’s growing role in HR — urging future professionals to “keep the human factor” at the center.
• Her advice to students: have a 10-year vision, but focus on excellence in the present — doing great work today is what earns tomorrow’s opportunities.

If this is your first time to the IOI podcast, it is recommended you start with this episode

Simeon Ong, Sales Manager for Associations at Marina Bay Sands, shares how an eight-month internship gave him full MICE-industry exposure, built his confidence, and ultimately shaped his career path in tourism, destination sales, and global events.

📌 Key Takeaways

• His internship gave him complete end-to-end event experience, and he discovered how working across logistics, proposals, sourcing, and operations built the foundation for his sales career.
• When COVID shut down the industry, he learned that career resilience and adaptability open unexpected paths, allowing him to return stronger to the tourism sector after time in HR.
• He emphasizes that networking is the most powerful tool students can develop, because internship contacts became industry partners, mentors, and future colleagues.
• Entering association sales taught him that selling a destination is bigger than selling a venue, and he finds meaning in bringing international events that grow Singapore’s tourism economy.
• Through every event and client interaction he continues to show that curiosity and a growth mindset fuel long-term success in the global MICE and hospitality industries.

Denise Lim, Global Partner Marketing Manager at SAP Singapore, shares with me in this Alumni Voices episode how her internships in events management became stepping-stones to a career in technology events. From managing international conferences to adapting to the rise of virtual events, Denise reflects on the lessons, challenges, and opportunities that shaped her professional journey.

📌 Key Takeaways:
• Internships at Pico International and Koelnmesse gave Denise hands-on experience with government and international conferences, building the foundation for her career.
• Being entrusted with real responsibility as an intern — including managing registration teams and handling client issues — built confidence and leadership skills.
• She stresses the importance of seeking a holistic internship by observing and learning from colleagues across roles like speaker management, sponsorships, and content design.
• Denise highlights the major industry shift to hybrid and virtual events, which now allow companies to reach a truly global audience.
• At the heart of events is human connection — success comes from creating spaces for networking, empathy, and meaningful interactions.s

In this episode of Alumni Voices, I talk with Jeanne Hizon, Director of Sales at the Kimpton Hotel Enso in San Francisco. Jeanne shares how curiosity, relationship-building, and adaptability helped her turn early frontline jobs into a thriving career in hotel sales — and why networking remains her superpower.

📌 Key Takeaways:• 

• Curiosity opens doors – Jeanne’s journey began by simply asking hotel guests how they got into the business.
• Learning by doing builds confidence – Working in hospitality while studying at SFSU let her immediately apply what she was learning in class.
• Sales needs a spotlight – She reminds students that sales is a powerful, people-driven path within hospitality often overlooked in internships.
• Tech can’t replace human connection – Tools like Amadeus and Salesforce help, but empathy and authentic service define success.
• Networking never stops – Jeanne believes staying connected and giving back are the keys to long-term career growth.

Christine Nelson, a dual director of sales for Intermountain Management, reflects on how a hands-on internship and an unexpected opportunity led her into a thriving career in hotel sales. In this Alumni Voices episode, she discusses the value of adaptability, initiative, and critical thinking as keys to internship success.

📌 Key Takeaways:·      

• Hands-on marketing and event planning during her Habitat for Humanity internship gave Christine confidence and sparked her creativity.
• Her hospitality sales career began unexpectedly after a Marriott manager offered her a job during a casual lunch conversation.
• Cold-calling for donations helped her develop sales skills that became foundational in her hotel career.
• She emphasizes that critical thinking is what distinguishes strong interns and future professionals.
• Christine recommends researching hotel development programs like Marriott’s Voyager and committing to long-term growth within a brand.

In this episode of Alumni Voices, I speak with Hatsumi Abuku, Country Manager at FutureLog in Japan. As well as, Director of Sales for FCS Solutions. From her early dreams of hotel work to leadership in hospitality tech, Hatsumi shares how internships helped her grow professionally—and personally.

📌 Key Takeaways:

• Hatsumi’s internships in banquet and sales departments gave her firsthand experience that helped shape her understanding of hotel operations and career direction.
• She reflects on how those early roles pushed her to speak more, overcome her shyness, and develop the communication skills essential for her future in sales.
• A difficult experience with harassment during her internship taught her the importance of advocating for herself and helped her realize the strength of her own voice.
• She emphasizes the value of rotating through different departments during internships and wishes she had been exposed to more cross-functional learning.
• Now working in hospitality technology, she encourages Japan’s hotel industry to embrace more tech-forward approaches to reduce labor challenges and improve work-life balance.