Kathryn De Campenhout
Graduate 2015, Hotel Management Program, Sales Co-ordinator, Starwood Hotels and Resorts
"I can genuinely say that without this program I would not have the connections in the company that I really wanted to be in. I wouldn't have the technical foundation to do the job I am doing now."
"This program provides an excellent balance between the practical and the academic skills required for a successful career in hotel and hospitality management."
Fred Lawlor, Vice President and General Manager,
Avendra Canada and George Brown graduate.
Jocelyn Blandford
Special Events Planning – Destination Tourism – H111, Graduated 2006
While many recent college graduates were out pounding the pavement for employment in their field, Jocelyn Blandford was getting settled into her new job as an event co-ordinator at Bell Canada shortly after completing the Special Events Planning – Destination Tourism program.
Even before she attended convocation to collect her George Brown College diploma, she was already collecting a paycheque.
"George Brown gave me an advantage because I have the education and experience," says Blandford, who was just finishing a required internship with the Canadian Cancer Society when she applied to Bell. "The program was a good stepping stone into the real world."
Danielle Caputi
Special Events Planning for Destination Tourism – H111, Graduated 2004
Sometimes it takes a couple of tries to figure out what you really want to do and for Danielle Caputi, the third time was the charm.
After one year in a creative advertising program at another college, and then one stint as an administrative assistant, Caputi decided to find her true vocation.
"I quickly tired of the monotonous 9-to-5 office job and realized that I had to get back into school and find something I'd truly enjoy,"says the 23-year-old from North York. While perusing through post-secondary program calendars, she came across George Brown College's Special Events Planning for Destination Tourism program. It caught her attention immediately because it was unique and presented a career path that she had never thought to consider.
Pasu Chu
Graduate, 2014, Hotel Management
George Brown helps graduate move into management role at Westin
Pasu Chu credits George Brown's Hotel Management program with boosting him to the next level in his career and helping him achieve his current role of assistant manager of banquets at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.
"George Brown's program took the spark of my initial interest in hotels and ignited it fully through its immersive teaching," says Chu.
Christine Cushing
Food and Beverage Management, Graduated 1986
For Christine Cushing, her love of culinary arts wasn't just a passing fancy. To follow her lifetime passion for cooking, she pulled out of linguistic studies at the University of Toronto to take George Brown College's Food and Beverage Management course.
Excited about her new classes, Christine was always inquisitive and inventive. For one assignment where the goal was to prepare a pasta dish, she decided to add a touch of cinnamon to the meat sauce. It's a common practice in her home country Greece, meant to give just a hint of sweetness. The instructor detected the flavour immediately and though it wasn't what he asked for, he had to admit it tasted good.
Heather Dahmer
Special Events Planning - Destination Tourism – H111, Graduated 2004
After graduating from high school, Heather Dahmer studied makeup artistry and began working in the beauty industry. But she soon realized that she needed something more stable and secure.
"It was a very hit-and-miss industry,"Dahmer explains. "I'd have work one week and nothing the next." So she began searching for a new career. Her mentor, who she met through a family connection, was an event planner for an investors group.
"I'd always been interested in her career. So I sat down with her and asked her what she did. She guided me in this direction,"Dahmer recalls.
In her research of college programs, she came across Special Events Planning -Destination Tourism, offered by George Brown College. The January start-up fit her schedule perfectly so she enrolled.
John Praskey
Graduate, 2012, Food and Beverage Management
George Brown elevates server towards a career in food and wine
John Praskey had worked nearly every position in the restaurant industry before he started thinking of it as a career option.
"I had always enjoyed hospitality work, but had never really evaluated it as a career until I began taking on more responsibility in front-of-house positions," says Praskey, who already held a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Waterloo. "As soon as I realized that I wanted to progress further, educating myself seemed like the right way to start treating hospitality as a career and learning where it could take me."
Julia Newlands
Hotel Management H103, Graduated 2003
When Julia Newlands looks back on her experience as a student at George Brown College, what really stands out in her mind is the hands-on experience she got from her externship.
"I was really lucky to have the opportunity to do my placement at such a nice hotel as the Park Hyatt,"says Newlands. "It really showed me firsthand what it is like to work in a hotel." Since graduating in 2003, Newlands has been applying everything she learned from the two-year program to her work with Metropolitan Hotels, best known for their chic boutique-style franchises like Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver, Metropolitan Hotel Toronto and SoHo Metropolitan Hotel.
Rahul Sam
Bachelor of Applied Business, Hospitality Operations Management, Graduated 2008
While many of his peers were kicking back with video games after a hard day of high school, Rahul Sam and his friends were busy whipping up one of Jamie Oliver's latest recipes. Not your average teenage preoccupation, but then again there is nothing average about Rahul. Now at the age of 23, the Bachelor of Applied Business (BAB) in Hospitality Operations Management graduate finds himself in the rare position of managing the food and beverage operations of Toronto's largest hotel. During a busy day as Assistant Banquet Manager at the Sheraton Centre, Rahul can oversee the delivery of up to 10,000 meals and supervise up to 50 food servers.
Even though the goal is clear now, working in the hotel business was never his first aspiration. Rahul always thought he would become a doctor, but then realized that his passion of food was more suited to a career as a chef. He decided to take the four-year BAB program before starting his culinary training. "Something happened at the end of my first year; I discovered a love of numbers and an interest in leading people," he says.
Saige Sills
Special Events Planning for Destination Tourism – H111, Graduated 2004
Saige Sills is passionate about music, enjoys travelling and loves to be around people so what job could be more perfect than working for the Juno Awards, Canada's top musical honour?
It's the kind of job that keeps you on your toes but Sills, also a musician, has the determination and drive to survive in this business. And having a diploma in Special Events Planning doesn't hurt either.
"Graduating from George Brown College has allowed me to believe I am capable of reaching any and all of my goals,"says the 25-year-old. "My educational background has empowered me to accomplish many different jobs within my workplace."
Enza Velocci
2008 Graduate - Applied Bachelor's Degree in Hospitality Operations Management
In 2004 I received a $2.000 scholarship award from the OHI "college entrance award." Then in February 2005 I started working as a Front Desk Agent at the Hampton Inn and Suites by Hilton Toronto Airport. I received a "wow award" from Hampton Inn and Suites Head Office (Hilton Hotels) for exceptional customer service/ customer satisfaction.
I then moved to Frosinone, Italy (about 1 hour away from Rome) shortly after I graduated (October 08) and opened an Event Planning Company.
Chris Palivan
Graduate 2014
Chris Palivan graduated from the Special Event Management Program. In the four years since co-founding the Toronto Cider Festival, Chris Palivan has grown the award-winning event into the largest cider festival in Canada. Together with the Toronto International Cider Awards, launched in 2017, Palivan hopes to put Toronto on the map as an international cider hub. Palivan also lent his event planning skills to the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, the 2017 Toronto Invictus Games and the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto. In recognition of the positive impact of his own education, Palivan established the annual Toronto Cider Festival scholarship in Special Events Planning program at the college.
