PTC Students Prep for Career Takeoff
Two tourism management students, Sandra Rymarchyk and Keith Cotter, joined Skål International Pittsburgh chapter at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Tuesday night. The club welcomes students to integrate and get to know people who share the core values, of Skål International: Friendship, Peace, Unity and Promotion, and the common interests in the field of tourism, both locally and internationally. When Young Skål move into management positions, they will continue the mission of Skål, thus becoming leaders who can proactively change their working environment.
Sandra Rymarchyk is a nontraditional student studying tourism management and sees herself working in a travel agency. Sandy expressed that “she really enjoyed the guest speaker and felt it was a nice group of people. Eddie had us in stitches.”
Sandy and Keith worked the room together meeting a lot of people including:
Howard Huzzard, SKAL Board Member & Retired American Airlines
Amy Gabbard, Residence Inn Oakland
Greg Goffin, Hotel Monaco
John Lenzner, Lenzer Tours
Marty Mundi, Entertainment Unlimited
Ed Grimes, Good Advertising
Cathy Craig, Regency Transportation
Jane Fahringer, Phipps Conservatory
Keith Cotter, is an ambitious student with a strong work ethic. He works at JC Penney and plans to take extra classes all while maintaining a high GPA at Pittsburgh Technical College. Keith is also studying tourism management and shares similar career goals as Sandra. Keith, felt he learned how to better communicate with people, to see myself better, and the importance of first impressions. For example, Marty Mundy from Entertainment Unlimited, helped him realize that the most important part of the career is to be happy. He didn’t look at the dinner as networking, but more as small talk, which is part of Skål’s core values. “It was surprising to see the level of professionalism while remaining relaxed.” He explained, “almost all of the professionals shared stories of their careers and personal lives.”
For those interested in joining, Keith described the dinners as a way to help prepare and connect you to resources you may not otherwise have. He believes, “it was a good idea to start getting my name out there and networking with potential employers.” Visit www.skalpittsburgh.com/young-skal for more information.
Students got a glimpse of the hotel’s $14 million renovation and flag change to Sheraton – the project scope included the property in its entirety and even changing the footprint of the hotel to offer a more thoughtful layout for our meeting and event attendees. As an airport property, the designer felt it was important to capture the essence and used part of an airplane fuselage as wall decoration above the lobby elevators and as a decorative panel underneath our Link@Sheraton Bar - a must see!
Meet the Sheraton Team
Director of Food & Beverage and Executive Chef, Jim Christman is a man of many talents and a wonderful addition to the team. Not only will you find his food is worth the calories, but in addition – his versatility makes him second to none! Recently met with the request from a bride for a gluten-free wedding reception for 200 – no problem! Not only were the bride and groom thrilled, but all of the wedding guests were raving about how much they enjoyed their meal! Jim is able to creatively accommodate for food allergy or dietary needs. With over 8,000 square feet of meeting space, the hotel makes a great gathering place for holiday after-hours socials in private dining rooms. Chef Christman is excited to launch a new restaurant menu July 1st; make sure to check it out!
The Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport is also pleased to work with Pittsburgh Technical College, and have successfully employed several graduates of the school such as: Mary D’Loss (Executive Meetings Manager), Amber Scharding, Harper Pyle, and most recently, Holly Speed (Sheraton Club Room Attendant). The hotel’s Carl Anderson was awarded the Director of Finance of the Year Award 2016 for Platinum Hotels.
