This summer, students from the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics discovered new avenues for professional preparation and practical hands-on experience. Lerner College students pursued an array of internships, externships and other professional development opportunities. From MBA scholars to undergraduates entering their second year at UD, students across a spectrum of Lerner programs shared their experiences accomplishing an assortment of projects.
Each profile of our “My Summer Internship” series will provide a glimpse into one of these unique experiences and how students applied knowledge from their studies to be successful in the real-world.
Dayana Garzon-Lagos, class of 2025 hospitality business management major with an international business minor, spent her summer as a food and beverage intern with Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa.
Lerner: How did you find out about this internship? Why did you pursue it?
Garzon-Lagos: As a previous intern for Hyatt and a Campus Ambassador for Hyatt, the university recruiters that come out for career fairs always try to match my experience, areas of growth, and passion to place me where I fit best. I pursued it because I have loved working for Hyatt the last two summers before this one and have made many connections, grown to love the field that I work in, and have seen so much growth in who I am as a person professionally and personally.
Lerner: What was the most exciting task or project that you completed?
Garzon-Lagos: The most exciting task that I was able to complete was a competition analysis for the pool bars/restaurants and the restaurant at the golf course. This project allowed me to see the different prices on our menu compared to four of the resort’s major competitors and fix the prices so that they could stay in competition and stay in the profit margin.
Lerner: What did you learn from the internship that you think you would not have learned elsewhere?
Garzon-Lagos: Something that I learned from the internship that I would not have learned elsewhere is putting on beverage activations with other vendors such as White Claw, Pacifico, and Karbach to allow guests to have samples of the products that the hotel offers but also allowing the vendors to put themselves out there. It was an amazing process to see from beginning to end and the efforts it takes from both parties to promote their business.
Lerner: What is an example of a time where you were able to apply what you’ve learned at Lerner to your role?
Garzon-Lagos: An example of a time I applied what I learned at Lerner was the competition analysis project I was assigned. I had learned about comp sets in my previous classes and I needed to use a lot of Excel tools and formulas to complete this project. Having the knowledge I already knew helped me complete this project successfully.
Lerner: Did you face any challenges during your internship? If so, what was the issue and how did you overcome it?
Garzon-Lagos: There weren’t any major issues that I faced during my internship but having to move team members around when there would be call-outs would be crucial to keep the business running. In addition, there would be times when communication would be difficult between different departments but it would just take being specific and helping one another out to solve these issues.
Lerner: What are your career plans, and how do you think the internship will push you closer to your professional goals?
Garzon-Lagos: My career plan after graduation is to partake in the Hyatt CMT (Corporate Management Training) Program for six months where I will be rotating through the food and beverage department as well as other areas of the hotel to expand my knowledge of the full operations of a hotel/resort. From there, I hope to continue to build my connections and climb up the ladder to eventually be a director of operations or director of food and beverage. This internship helped me immensely as I had more of a supervisor role and would run the shifts on my own and assist the managers on any office work that had to be completed. It gave me an idea as to what my day-to-day may look like in the upcoming years!