Emily Or began her freshman year at the University of Georgia as a classics major, with thoughts of law school in her future. Then she discovered the Hospitality and Food Industry Management (HFIM) program, and her plans quickly changed.

“I realized I really didn’t want to go to law school, I didn’t want to be a lawyer,” says Or, a junior from Atlanta who will complete a required internship at the UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel in May. One of nine paid HFIM interns at the Georgia Center this semester, she was one of the first students to have a mentor from the center’s staff to guide and encourage her as she learned on the job.

“This internship was my first experience in the sales and event sector of the hospitality industry, and I encountered many terms and abbreviations that I didn’t understand,” says Or, whose mentor is Ashley Moore, a senior event coordinator. “Ashley was very helpful and patient whenever I had questions about banquet event orders, set-up logistics and other things.”

The Georgia Center, a full-service hotel and conference center with two restaurants, banquet service, auditoriums and meeting rooms, is often HFIM students’ first introduction to all aspects of the hospitality industry. The HFIM degree is housed in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, but students in the program get most of their hands-on education, and take some classes, at the Georgia Center.

KT Cooke, director of sales and event management, oversees the HFIM internship program, through which Georgia Center employees are paired as mentors to student interns assigned to their departments. Interns begin the semester by shadowing their mentors, meeting new colleagues and becoming familiar with the hotel conference center.

Mentors and their mentees are expected to check in with each other at least once a month to discuss any questions and concerns, compare their work experience to their future career goals and provide encouragement.

“These mentors play a crucial role in guiding interns through their internship experience, helping them bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world application,” Cooke says. “At the Georgia Center, we want our interns to feel seen, heard, and supported.” 

Even on the busiest days, intern Emily Frank says her mentor, senior event coordinator Jenny Carrico, is approachable, patient and genuinely willing to help.

“She encouraged me to ask questions and take on new responsibilities, and that helped me feel more confident in what I was doing,” says Frank, a junior from Miami Beach, Florida. “Knowing I had that support made it easier to learn and feel comfortable in a professional environment.”

“It has really been rewarding to see the interns develop their strengths,” Carrico says. “They become more confident.”

The students’ experience working in an on-campus, full-service hotel and conference center prepares them for external internships and full-time jobs, often with prestigious companies.

This summer, Frank will intern at Sea Island Resort on the Georgia coast, serving as a hostess and a supervisor-in-training.

Her internship in event planning at UGA has heightened her attention to detail, something she will need working at Sea Island, a Forbes Five-Star luxury resort. A key part of her internship this spring at the Georgia Center was making sure that rooms were prepared and breaks and meals were served on time so that conference attendees didn’t get off schedule.

“I’m really big on organization and communication,” Frank says. “This has definitely given me a lot of experience.”

In addition to the practical experience, the students learn a lot by observing their mentors and getting to know them. During the semester, Or said she learned how Moore applies the lessons and contacts from her education both to her role planning events for VIP clients and to her life.

“She taught me how she balances work responsibilities with her life outside the office,” Or says, “which encouraged me to reflect on how I want to achieve my own work-life balance in the future.”

This summer Or has an internship in catering and event planning at a golf club in Egg Harbor, a popular Door County, Wisconsin, summer tourist area. The experience she’ll have there, helping with weddings, receptions and other social events, will build on what she’s learned at UGA helping with conferences and corporate meetings, she says.

“I think, ultimately, I want to stay in hotels,” Or says. “But it’s important for me to get a lot of experience in hospitality.”

“I want to try everything, and we’ll see.”

As one of the first mentors to an HFIM intern, Moore discovered that mentorship is a two-way street. She also grew through the program and gained a better understanding of the HFIM program which helped expand her view of her role as an event planner at the Georgia Center.

“I learned a lot about our internship program in general,” she said. “And have gotten good ideas from the students and feedback for ways to continue to improve the internship experience.”