Alliance for Hospitality, Equity and Diversity Campus Takeover at DSU

The Alliance for Hospitality Equity & Diversity (AHED) descended upon Delaware State University on April 16 as part of its first-ever Campus Takeover Day to share with the student community the vast array of career opportunities within the hospitality industry.

AHED – whose mission is to transform the hospitality industry by intentionally uplifting and amplifying cultural representation of untapped talent – selected DSU as the inaugural location for its inaugural Campus Takeover event.

“We want to be creative about finding opportunities to engage young people with high-level professionals,” said Brian Barker, AHED Executive Director. “So we have brought some of the top leaders to the campus today so they can meet the students of DSU to see how amazing they are. We want the students to understand that our industry is more robust than waiting on tables, making beds, and cooking; it is so much more than that, and that is the story we want to tell.”

During the AHED Campus Takeover, students were able to connect with hotel enterprises such as the Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Four Seasons, and Wyndham; beverage companies like Bacardi, Red Bull, and Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits; and food and hospitality management entities such as Sodexo Magic and TKo Hospitality.

In addition, representatives from Penn State University, NYU’s Tisch Center of Hospitality, and the University of South Carolina were on hand to provide information about their graduate studies programs in hospitality. Representatives from the American Hotel & Lodging Association Foundation also attended to share information about scholarship opportunities.

After the morning program and workshop, the Campus Takeover shifted to the wonderful spring weather outdoors where hospitality industry entities greeted students at booths and tables amid the serving of taco meals against a hip-hop music backdrop.

Among the industry representatives was James Dinnall, a Hyatt General Manager in San Francisco, CA., who also completed a Bachelor of Hospitality Management at DSU in 1999.

“If it were not for Delaware State University, I would not be where I am today. That is an unequivocal fact,” the DSU alumnus said.

Mr. Dinnall credits former DSU Hospitality Department Chair Ann Smith with her unending encouragement during his undergraduate years.

“Dr. Smith encouraged me to run for office in the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality, in which I was the DSU Chapter chairman, Southeast Regional NSMH chairman, and went on to be national NSMH chair,” Mr. Dinnall said. “Mrs. Smith saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself, and she encouraged me to keep going and keep going.”