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A Win-Win Relationship Between Horseshoe Bay Resort and Texa Tech University: Part III

Together with Dr. Blum and Dr. Adams, I toured the Highland Lakes University Center today and met with 10 out of the 26 Texas Tech students who are doing internships in the Horseshoe Bay Resort. Students shared their internship experience with me.

These 10 students work in the Concierge, Marina, the Yacht Club (with a high end restaurant), golf course, and the restaurant and wine room inside the hotel. During the summer, many of them also have a chance to work in two different departments or areas to gain a variety of work experience. Students seem very happy with their internships; and they greatly appreciate the opportunity they have in Horseshoe Bay.

Studying in the RHIM (Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management) program at Texas Tech, students have to complete 400 hours of hospitality work experience and 400 hours of internship before they can graduate with a B.S. degree in RHIM. Many RHIM students work while they are in school. I asked them what differences they found between this internship and their part-time job experience in Lubbock, they told me they truly valued the opportunity in Horseshoe Bay. A student stated: “because Horseshoe Bay Resort is a high end resort with a variety of resort amenities, I can gain more new experience that I cannot get in Lubbock.” “I feel the resort has very high expectations and standards;” suggested by another student, “I feel I can do better in my other jobs after I finish this internship.” Students indicate they understand their work represents the quality of the RHIM program at Texas Tech. They treasure this internship opportunity and work hard.

Meanwhile, the managers in Horseshoe Bay love to work with the interns from Texas Tech, but they sometimes feel sad when seeing students go back to school at the end of the summer. I expect the win-win relationship will grow if students keep doing excellent jobs and the community continues the support.

As a matter of fact, the RHIM program at Texas Tech has built very close relationships with many hospitality companies. The Moody Garden Hotel, Spa, and Convention Center in Galveston is another great example, which also hires between 15 to 25 interns from the RHIM program every summer. Having a close relationship with many hospitality companies has become a great strength of the RHIM program.

I am glad to see the RHIM program and Texas Tech University receive such a big support from the community, which presents many opportunities to students. I look forward to hearing more good things about the RHIM program and the local community.

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