{"id":76793,"date":"2026-01-14T08:37:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T15:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=76793"},"modified":"2026-01-14T08:37:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T15:37:11","slug":"a-day-in-the-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/a-day-in-the-life\/","title":{"rendered":"A day in the life"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a\u00a0three-year hiatus,\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>School of Hotel and Restaurant Management<\/span><\/a>\u2019s\u00a0(HRM)\u00a0Job Shadow Program is back, taking students\u00a0into\u00a0the workplace for a day of career learning. This revived initiative pairs students with professionals in the\u00a0hospitality\u00a0industry\u00a0to give them a firsthand look at the responsibilities,\u00a0challenges\u00a0and collaboration behind each role.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For many students, this is their first opportunity to step inside the environments\u00a0they\u2019ve\u00a0only heard about in class. For employers,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a chance to show what the industry\u00a0is looking for\u00a0when\u00a0hiring.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Suzanne Taylor<\/span><\/b>, program director\u00a0of career services and alumni\u00a0at\u00a0HRM,\u00a0started working on the program\u00a0last\u00a0October,\u00a0recruiting students and\u00a0reaching out to hospitality companies in the state who were willing to\u00a0show them the ropes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis year we\u00a0were able to\u00a0place\u00a0sophomores, juniors and seniors in different restaurants, resorts and spas in Flagstaff, Sedona and Phoenix,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cWe are so excited to have the program back. We want to give students an overview of the different departments and jobs out there so that they can get a better idea of what they want to do\u00a0when\u00a0they graduate, while also connecting them with potential employers.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Students are recruited\u00a0in\u00a0the fall through social media and invited to fill out an application for the program. Then, they\u00a0participate\u00a0in an interview where they share their interests and capabilities. Once paired with an employer,\u00a0students attend\u00a0a one-hour orientation where they learn\u00a0about\u00a0professionalism,\u00a0appropriate attire, developing and\u00a0asking\u00a0questions\u00a0and\u00a0logistics.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to pair students with their area of interest,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cThey start the day early and\u00a0usually get to\u00a0meet the\u00a0general manager\u00a0or some higher executive staff. They attend a staff meeting or briefing and then go on a tour of the property or restaurant and get to speak with different department managers. After lunch, they\u00a0get to shadow the managers in the areas they are most interested in.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Student<\/a>Hailey Colvin<\/span><\/b>, a sophomore\u00a0majoring in\u00a0hospitality,\u00a0spent\u00a0the\u00a0day\u00a0with\u00a0The Bella Group, a\u00a0real estate investment and property management company\u00a0with offices\u00a0in\u00a0Flagstaff\u00a0and Tucson.\u00a0She\u00a0was able to shadow two leasing agents who took her on a tour of their properties and put her skills to work.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoyed learning about their positions and\u00a0getting their\u00a0feedback,\u201d Colvin said.\u00a0\u201cI think my favorite part\u00a0was helping them\u00a0set up for an event they were having\u00a0because I could interact with everyone on\u00a0the\u00a0property. The most valuable\u202fthing I learned at\u00a0The Bella Group\u00a0was that even though each day is different,\u00a0the\u00a0goals and values never change. I think this\u00a0will help me throughout the future and will further my career because learning how to navigate each day is key, no matter how different it is.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Job Shadow Program is\u00a0part of the\u00a0<\/span>career-ready\u00a0strategies\u00a0HRM<\/span><\/a>\u00a0has been focusing on, where students get a taste of what\u00a0their post-graduation career will look like.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStudents can make strong connections that allow them to get a better sense of a path that might resonate with them,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cWhether\u00a0it’s front of the house or back of the house\u00a0in a\u00a0restaurant,\u00a0hotel or resort, organizing events, banqueting, sales, marketing, management, maintenance or landscaping, they are seeing first-hand how it all works.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Student<\/a>This was the case\u00a0for\u00a0<\/span>Zach\u00a0McDaniel<\/span><\/b>, a senior who shadowed at The Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix. He said this experience gave him a better understanding of how operations work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI got to see what a busy day looks like at the front desk and sat in some department meetings,\u201d McDaniel said. \u201cThis experience helped me understand what my path may look like and where I will start. It showed me what the different areas are and what growth and progression look like. Taking advantage of an opportunity like this is one of the best ways to figure out what your interests are if you are in the right industry.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Taylor\u00a0said\u00a0the day-long program is like a job interview where students start thinking about questions they need to ask,\u00a0have conversations with people from different departments and\u00a0can\u00a0practice the professional skills\u00a0they might not have an opportunity to show in a school environment, allowing\u00a0them\u00a0to\u00a0engage\u00a0and network\u00a0while\u00a0building their confidence.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis experience gave me a better perspective on career opportunities after graduation,\u201d said\u00a0<\/span>Bella Elton<\/span><\/b>, who shadowed\u00a0at\u00a0the restaurant Flower Child\u00a0in\u00a0the valley. \u201cIt showed me what\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0capable of and the type of environment I want to work in. I learned the importance of\u00a0strong communication\u00a0between managers and employees and gained an appreciation for the impact that serving high-quality food has on customer satisfaction and the company\u2019s reputation.\u00a0I\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0have asked for a better experience or a more welcoming company. I gained insight into both the corporate side of operations and the hands-on responsibilities a manager has in the restaurant. I also learned about the administrative aspects of management and saw firsthand how the company invests in its managers and employees, building\u00a0a strong foundation\u00a0for growth and development.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Applications for students interested in\u00a0participating\u00a0in this program\u00a0will\u00a0open in October. Those interested can\u00a0<\/span>email Suzanne Taylor<\/span><\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Northern<\/a>Mariana Laas | NAU Communications
\n(928) 523-5050 | mariana.laas@nau.edu<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a\u00a0three-year hiatus,\u00a0the\u00a0School of Hotel and Restaurant Management\u2019s\u00a0(HRM)\u00a0Job Shadow Program is back, taking students\u00a0into\u00a0the workplace for a day of career learning. This revived initiative pairs students with professionals in the\u00a0hospitality\u00a0industry\u00a0to give them a firsthand look at the responsibilities,\u00a0challenges\u00a0and collaboration behind each role.\u00a0\u00a0 For many students, this is their first opportunity to step inside the environments\u00a0they\u2019ve\u00a0only…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":76798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research-academics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}