College of Business tours New Orleans hospitality industry

Faculty and staff from the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration recently participated in a field trip to New Orleans, LA, which included a tour of Mardi Gras World, the National WWII Museum, and the New Orleans Morial Convention Center.

The group of over 30 students toured the facilities for a behind-the-scenes look at the venues, event planning details, and future expansion plans. Management representatives, including Director of Sales at Mardi Gras World and UL Lafayette Alum, Andy LeBoeuf, discussed skills needed in the work place, how to forge a career path and specifics about the economic impact that their venues have on the City of New Orleans.

This field trip was organized by instructor Lisa K. Bowles as part of the hospitality management course, HMGT 407 - Event Planning & Management.  Each semester, Bowles, who holds a certification in hotel industry analytics, offers experiential learning opportunities. Students are able to see the application of classroom lectures as well as the many career paths that are available to Hospitality Management majors.

Kelly Skarzynski, double major in hospitality management and marketing and assistant to the event coordinator at the Paul & Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum, was in attendance. She says, "I can confidently say this field trip educated me about mass-event hosting, multiple venue marketing, and non-profit event planning. The things I learned supported my current knowledge and helped me gain some more knowledge about hospitality and event planning industry. This trip opened up possibilities and expanded my prior idea of event planning to a new, larger idea."

Students gathered at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center and were welcomed by the communications team including Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Tim Hemphill.

Students tour Mardi Gras World before hearing from Director of Sales and UL Alum, Andy LeBoeuf.