Chad Streett graduated from Lerner College in 2000 with a bachelor of science degree in hotel, restaurant and institutional management. Streett resides in Millsboro, DE, and works as a mobilization project director at Aramark Healthcare.
As an Outstanding Lifelong Lerner, Streett talked about how Lerner helped him foster leadership skills, gain invaluable hospitality experience, and create lifelong connections with other alumni peers.
Lerner: Why did you decide to pursue your program at the Lerner College?
Streett: University of Delaware’s prominence in the area for hospitality program with a fine dining kitchen to learn and work through every position.
Lerner: What did you learn through this opportunity that you wouldn’t have learned anywhere else?
Streett: Outside of the technical expertise, we worked every position in the restaurant. We learned the importance of each and every position and treating every position/person with respect as all positions are equally important.
Lerner: Please share an example of a course or concept that you were able to apply directly to your life and/or career.
Streett: While it is not the most important part of life, I was able to strengthen my accounting skillset to better serve my personal finances and all businesses that I have run, grown and opened have a budget and accounting aspect to it. The world is run on numbers and data.
Lerner: Describe an important connection you have made through your program (personal, professional, peers, mentors, professors, etc.)
Streett: I still connect personally and professionally with my alumni peers and have helped each other throughout our careers. I try to stay connected with my professors, also. Joe Digregorio had a lasting impression on my professional career. I model his handling of any stressful situation that comes in life through preparation for any possibilities to start with, a plan B for every situation and to calmly walk people through the plan to get through the situation.
Lerner: If you were to describe your classmates in one word, what would that be and why?
Streett: Leaders – we learned to work together as a team and pull each other through our challenges to become leaders, not just students or managers. The Lerner College program builds leaders today, tomorrow and in the future.
Lerner: Fill in this sentence: “My program helped me become…”
Streett: A principled leader who leads with empathy, embraces accountability and makes a difference through servant leadership to foster collaborative success.
Lerner: What piece(s) of advice would you give to current UD students?
Streett: Know your strengths and acknowledge your weaknesses, have a plan to develop or study your weaknesses to make them strengths. Work Hard and Play Hard
Lerner: What are your professional plans or next steps for the future?
Streett: Board of Directors roles
Lerner: What piece(s) of advice do you have for fellow businesspeople?
Streett: One piece of advice I would give fellow businesspeople is to lead with empathy, stay accountable for your actions, and prioritize service over authority. Building strong relationships based on trust and understanding not only strengthens teams but also creates lasting success. In short: Empathy builds loyalty. Accountability builds credibility. Service builds legacy.
Lerner: What does it mean to you to be a Lifelong Lerner?
Streett: To me, being a Lifelong Lerner means being part of a proud legacy of innovators and leaders who are shaping the future of our industries. It represents a commitment to continuous growth, leading with integrity, and carrying forward the excellence and values that define the Lerner community.