A Baby is Born!

Greetings Everyone!

Well, I had no idea how emotional I would be as this special day approached . . . but, it is the night before and I can’t sleep!  The feeling I guess is similar to that of an expectant mother about to go into labor . . . my breath is short, the anticipation of what is going to happen is overwhelming.  All I need now is for someone to say push!  Tomorrow, Monday, October 17, 2011 will go down in history as we launch our Hospitality & Restaurant Management (HRM) ONLINE program.  My baby is born. . .

It is an amazing feeling when dreams come true.  I have thought about this moment in time for almost three years and worked feverishly with my team for the past year getting things in order to make this happen.  I am very proud of the work that we’ve done and are doing to bring this bachelor’s degree curriculum to the online environment.  Gwen Hasse, HRM Lead Instructor and I stayed up late many nights researching, benchmarking, writing course descriptions, changing objectives, revising lesson plans, updating and making projects relevant.  Together we poured our passions, talents, and time into this project hoping that it would all be approved, come to fruition, and be the kind of opportunity a student and his or her employer could benefit from.

It isn’t easy to turn your hard work over to someone and trust that they will handle it with care.  But, that is exactly what Gwen and I had to do.  Brittany Barwegen, HRM Instructional Designer/Instructor has been able to translate our visions into courses for the online student.  With her inquisitive nature and tech savvy ability she has created such interactive creations as the Pineapple Pad!   She’s been able to incorporate video, animation, and audio to keep students not only engaged; but, wanting to learn more and more each day.

Day one, approximately 19 students will meet my first born named HRM1010 Introduction to Hospitality & Industry Trends.  She is 10 weeks long and has a ton of content that will inspire and guide.  This course will feature a classy lady named Penelope Pineapple!  She is the self-proclaimed “Queen of Hospitality.”  She is ready to greet students and share with them all she knows about hospitality, restaurants, and management.

Our online offering is right on time!  Today, more and more industry professionals want to seek higher education but have been bound by time constraints from working in the industry.  Taking classes online however allows them the flexibility to maintain their full-time employment yet have 24/7 access to their classes.

I’ll be looking for opportunities to share with you all HRM1010’s progress.  Come watch her grow in person by joining us!  You still have time to register for classes and be a part of this dream come true.  Or, you can read about HRM1010 and Penelope on Facebook!

Thank you for listening!  I am going to try to sleep now.  PUSH!

Jokima Hiller, Program Coordinator
Hospitality & Restaurant Management