By Joy Neighbors
Each
summer, interns and international students travel to French Lick Resort
to take part in a learning work/culture experience for three months,
and this year was no exception. But what was different was the capstone project
they decided on; a cultural display of what they’ve learned about hospitality.
According
to Steven Spencer, Human Resources Training Coordinator, this project was to
be a resort-wide cultural exchange. “We started discussing the project late
last year and added the specifics about a month ago. We wanted interns and the
international students to work together on this project just like they would at a
real job. It’s about letting them learn each other’s culture. International
students are experiencing and learning about American culture for the three months
they are here and interns are now learning about other cultures from the
international students.”
Students and interns planned a resort-wide international banquet that highlighted dishes from every country the students came from. “The interns and students worked together to plan a buffet-style menu,
come up with fun facts about their countries, and create decorations and an
activity that pertained to each country,” Spencer explained. “They were to
treat this like a job; do cost comparisons and make smart business decisions,
book the meeting space, select the decorations, order napkins and tablecloths.
Some of the international students also decided to offer traditional candies
and have stuffed lions on their tables because these are native to their countries.”
"The
students only had four weeks to turn this event around and make it work. And
in the hospitality industry that’s not an unusual deadline so it was a great
learning experience about the real world," Spencer said. “Each week when they met,
they had a goal to meet. The first week, the full menu had to be
selected and students had to provide all of the recipes so there was time to assemble
all the necessary ingredients. Week Two, the
fun facts had to be completed and students started constructing their
decorations. Week Three, decorations had to be finished, and Week Four,
anything else that had to be assembled, completed or finalized was due because
Wednesday, July 27 would be show time!”
Resort
chefs prepared the food from recipes gathered by the students who also assisted in the traditional preparation of certain dishes. The
banquet represented all seven countries the students came from:
Bulgaria, Hungary, Jamaica, Nigeria, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
The
meal was served in two shifts, one from 10:30 am to 3 pm, and the next from
4 pm to 10 pm. This allowed all 900 French Lick Resort associates a
chance to visit the Windsor Ballroom and enjoy the buffet. Third shift also got
to take part; boxed lunches for each country were prepared so these associates
could also enjoy the diverse menus.
Marketing
intern Matthew White, from Indiana State University, worked with the students
from Bulgaria. White had this to say about the project, “This experience
allowed us to learn how to research, problem solve, set goals, reach beyond
boundaries, and work as a team. We (interns) assisted international students
with compiling menus, making sure activities were laid out properly and preparing
decorations. We made sure that each country was represented with a nice variety
of selections. The cultural exchange was the final project demonstrating what
we’ve learned.” White smiled and acknowledged that it was a lot of work to pull
off in four weeks, “Hopefully, it was a wonderful experience for French Lick
Resort employees to get to explore other countries.”
Team
leader Steven Spencer hoped students and interns would take away several
things, “The satisfaction of having done it and made it a success. The sense of
teamwork that has developed between the international students and the interns,
learning how to work together to pull an event like this off; how to learn from
others. They’ve had a chance to take down borders by working together, everyone
comes from a different walk of life but these students from seven countries, and
the interns, learned how to make it work for everyone. They’ve also gained more
resort knowledge and a real understanding of how this industry works."
Will there be more such events? "This is only the first year for this event," Spencer promised. “Next year, students will start thinking about it when they arrive. And they'll have it easier with three months to discuss and prepare for it.”
Congratulations to all students, interns and staff that took part - the end result was spectacular!
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| Romanian Students |
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| Steven Spencer |
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| Country-Appropriate Table Decor |
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| A Wide Array of Food |
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| Appetizing Choices |
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| Cold Veggie Salad |
The
meal was served in two shifts, one from 10:30 am to 3 pm, and the next from
4 pm to 10 pm. This allowed all 900 French Lick Resort associates a
chance to visit the Windsor Ballroom and enjoy the buffet. Third shift also got
to take part; boxed lunches for each country were prepared so these associates
could also enjoy the diverse menus. |
| Tables Decorated in Each Country's Colors |
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| Steven Spencer |
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| A Good Luck Hug |
Will there be more such events? "This is only the first year for this event," Spencer promised. “Next year, students will start thinking about it when they arrive. And they'll have it easier with three months to discuss and prepare for it.”
Congratulations to all students, interns and staff that took part - the end result was spectacular!