Sylvester Taylor Hospitality Scholarship

As a child I was enthralled by the idea of becoming a party planner. Whenever I was asked about what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was always the same: I wanted to plan parties, events and weddings. Not only was I a girl who loved the idea of planning such things, but I was also a girl who loved Disney more than anything in the whole world. As I grew into the young woman I am today, my love and passion for both of those things has not faltered. This coming fall, I will begin my second year at George Mason University studying Hospitality, Tourism, and Events Management. From the moment I decided on my field of study, I understood that hospitality is more than just simply a profession, it is a philosophy. Hospitality truly is the art of making every person feel seen, welcomed, and valued for who they are. This belief is what has drawn me to the field, and it is the same belief I see reflected in the extraordinary life of Sylvester Taylor. Working for the Walt Disney Company is my lifelong dream and my biggest career goal. It has truly been something I have wanted for as long as I can remember. Growing up in California, my family would take trips to Disneyland as often as we could afford to. I remember the feeling of pure magic and happiness being there brought to me as a child, and I want to create that feeling for others through my future career. I hope that through my degree and hard work, I will be able to secure a job at the Walt Disney Company! My dream is to plan events and create experiences for people all over the world! Disney is one of those companies that I truly feel makes an impact on the world through it's hospitality. Their commitment to storytelling through service by creating magic for their guests aligns perfectly with what I am studying and who I aspire to become. Whether I am coordinating large scale events, managing experiences, or developing programs that bring people together, I want to contribute to an environment where every detail is intentional and every guest leaves with memories that will last a lifetime. Just like Mr. Taylor, I hope to bring my own friendliness and authenticity to my future career in the hospitality world. The Sylvester Taylor Hospitality Scholarship would help me to continue pursuing this dream of mine with both support and motivation. As a student who finances her own education, this scholarship would make a meaningful difference. More than that, it would be an affirmation that the values I carry close to my heart have a place within the industry. I am committed to honoring Mr. Taylor's Legacy, not just by succeeding within my future in hospitality, but by also fostering the same spirit of service, celebration of others, and lasting positive impact that has defined his remarkable career!

Since childhood I have maintained an intense interest in hospitality, both as a business concept and the essential people who operate within it. At age 15, I started working at different hotels, which included both Four Points by Sheraton, and The Gwen Hotel, a luxury property in downtown Chicago. Through my studies at DePaul University, I have learned that hospitality extends beyond service because it provides the foundation to develop valuable experiences and make positive life changes. I will use my hospitality passion to build a community that welcomes everyone while motivating purpose in every guest encounter. I understand that perfect service does not exist, but the essence of great hospitality relies on showing empathy. I aim to establish a hotel collection that puts people above financial gains by employing locals and investing in staff development and providing a secure environment for travelers and residents. The combination of emotional intelligence with cultural awareness and ethical leadership will turn my properties into economic drivers and social hubs. The hospitality sector creates special avenues to tackle worldwide difficulties including sustainability and human trafficking. The future hotels I plan to operate will practice sustainable operations through environmentally friendly construction alongside fair employment standards and local partnerships. Hospitality functions as a tool for youth empowerment and second chances through its ability to provide jobs in underrepresented communities and mentorship programs for interns while creating career advancement opportunities in the hospitality industry. My enthusiasm for hospitality stems from my dedication to connecting with other people. The simple act of checking in, hosting events or preparing food holds the power to create feelings of recognition and worth and genuine concern in people's lives. My true impact will be achieved through leadership or ownership or advocacy work that scales the feeling I have now. Overall, I plan to make a positive impact on the world by using my voice to advocate for those who need it most.

The hospitality industry is one of the few fields in the world whose product about is a feeling or an experience rather than a physical entity. Yes, the industry has tangible items like hotel rooms, food and beverage, and traveling, but our job as providers of this industry is to create an unforgettable experience for our customers and make them feel like they have a home away from home. I have traveled to many places around the world and had the amazing opportunity to experience so many different types of hospitality and cultures. These travels have allowed me to take bits and pieces of the hospitality qualities I enjoyed and implement them into my work ethic and values. One of the main reasons I became so passionate about the hospitality industry was due to the way those hospitality establishments made me feel during and after my time there. I have rarely had a poor experience at a hospitality establishment, and when I did, it was usually due to an issue that I was able to identify and be sympathetic to. The staff at these establishments always made me feel so welcome and were the pinnacle of great customer service. The feeling I felt at these establishments made me want to pursue a career in this field so I could give that same feeling to others. While I doubt I can impact the entire world, I am confident that I can impact the customers who walk through the doors of whichever property I work at in the future. I think many people underestimate the power of kindness and the act of making someone feel welcome. You never know what a person is going through or what is happening in their life, and these small gestures can make the biggest difference. By using my experience and passion, I will strive to make every customer I interact with feel welcome and do everything in my power to make their experience not just a night in a hotel but a memory they will cherish forever.

Growing up in the Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio was tough. I was surrounded by violence my entire life and watched as it took a toll on many of my past friends as they lost focus on their passions. My mother did her best to take care of me and my two sisters by working continuously all day every day. Once I was old enough to be left alone at home, I began to provide for me and my younger sister. My mother wasn’t getting any help and with her working constantly, I had no one in my ear motivating me to do the best I can. I believe that every child needs to hear that. I found my own motivation in life by my God-given gifts. Safe to assume that it all began with being home alone while my mother worked. Being left alone meant I had to learn how to cook so I taught myself. As the years went by, my cooking skills improved tremendously and so well that I found interest in starting my own small baking business. By the time I graduated high school, I knew that I wanted to continue my education in Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management. I will be the first person in my family to graduate college and to open my very own restaurant. However, sometimes I feel unmotivated with the lack of financial aid that I receive. I put my dreams on hold each morning wondering if I’ll even reach them if I can barely afford the education that is required. Is this the feeling my childhood friends felt when they decided that being in the streets was the better option? This self-inflicted fear makes me question my path towards success. This scholarship will help me cover the financial aid balance that has been draining my family’s pockets throughout the past year. With the help of this scholarship I can feel more confident in marking my way towards graduation. I have completed countless hours of community service, helping others not only through my co-educational fraternity (Phi Beta Lambda Business Fraternity INC.) but throughout campus. The poem “Invictus” is a poem that members of my fraternity have recited multiple times. The poem reminds me that no matter how hard things become in life, my fate and future is in my control.

From a young age, I’ve been exposed to hospitable behavior. My parents helped me adapt to a new country when they adopted me at two years old, and have ingrained morals to treat everyone with kindness. It’s the least I can do to pursue a degree in hospitality management and excel, so I can show my appreciation for all they have done for me. Yet, the cost of college has only increased and with my parents being in their sixties and ready to retire, we're no longer in the financial capacity to afford college. Having the opportunity to be considered for this scholarship, it’ll help fund my housing and textbook costs. This aid will ensure that I’m close to the heart of Orlando where the opportunities for this field are endless. My interest in the hospitality field sparked early on. Meeting Cinderella for the first time when I was four years old was an awestruck moment. I’ll never forget the blue, sparkly hue of her dress or how her shoes and necklace glimmered! Not to mention that her bun was meticulously styled on her head, along with perfectly curled tendrils framing her face. When it was my turn to meet her, she immediately complimented the dress I was wearing, as I was wearing an identical blue, sparkly dress with my hair recently done at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. The experience was just magical and is most definitely one of the reasons my parents chose to be returning guests at the Disney World theme parks and hotels. Realizing she was actually a Disney cast member who made my dreams come true stemmed an interest in finding a career where I could do that. After doing some research on the hospitality industry, I immediately knew that was the career for me! I have always been a xenophile and have loved helping people around me, so I knew a career catered towards making unforgettable memories for those on vacation would be right up my alley. My ability to empathize with others and negotiate issues will be beneficial when handling unsatisfied guests. Furthermore, understanding the mechanics of consumerism will enable me to strategically implement models that will exceed a customer’s expectations. There’s a lot of knowledge that goes along with this field and I’m ready to expand and strengthen the skills I already possess. This exposure to all the aspects that make up the hospitality industry led me to take on a job at the Signia by Hilton during my junior year. Getting to interact with guests and seeing so many smiles cemented that I wanted to major in lodging management. Traveling the world excites me and I want to be involved in the innovative community that shapes how we wander! My aspiration of being the general manager of a reputable hotel, allows me to help reduce the amount of sex trafficking that goes on in the hotel scene. Most importantly, I can make every guest’s experience magical!

My name is Julissa Fryer, I am currently a senior a Florida International University. My major is Hospitality Event Management and my career goal is to start my own business as an event planner/manager. Ever since the beginning of high school I’ve known that I like different types of social events, so when I started to volunteer and get the experience I knew this is what I was meant to do. My entire high school years up until now I’ve been perfecting my skills in decorating, planning, and leading. In high school I was in a few programs that helped me get on track with my career choice and made me who I am today. One of them was the hospitality magnet program. Being in that program helped me learn about hospitality in its entirety. I learned the different aspects, traits and skills you need to have while in this industry. The second program was a mentoring program for young ladies called K.I.C.S, which is an acronym for “Keeping it Classy Sisterhood”. In this program is where I learned a lot about the powers that us women bring to the world. I found my Independence, I became more confident in who I am, I was also reminded of my worth daily. Where I first learned about my worth was a ministry in my church called “ Worth the Wait”, which was also another girl empowerment group that taught us our worth from a spiritual standpoint but we didn’t only learn the obvious things to wait for, we learned about things that deserve our worth in this world. I believe that I am worth the school I attend, I am worth the scholarships to help me fund this school plus the experiences that it brings me and I am worth the business that I aspire to have, but I’m not just worth it someday I am worth it today. This Scholarships will help me reach my goal of being the best event planner I can be without any limitations. I will be able to get the resources that I need and I can put all my focus into school. I am willing to go however far it takes to manifest my dreams and I will work diligently day in and day out. I owe it to myself, I owe it to my family, and I also owe it to people watching me hoping I succeed.

Tourism is the lifeblood of Orlando, Florida, and when you work in this industry your job is to not only assist guests but to help them make memories. I am a kid that grew up right in the center of the craziness that is Orlando. Growing up I experienced all of the theme parks and attractions that we have to offer. I not only was able to experience them, but I was also able to learn about them and how they operate. My whole family works in and around the theme park industry. It is actually where my parents met. When working in the hospitality industry it's about a whole lot more than understanding how to run a ride. it's about understanding what these trips that I got to take every day, meant to the families that came from around the country. That couldn't just drive to these places after school. This is why I knew I always wanted to work in this industry. In 2021 I got the chance. I was hired at Universal Orlando Resort as a Sales Associate. I have now almost been working there 2 years and have had countless guest experiences, but one, in particular, is my most memorable. I was at the registers one day ringing out guests and this couple walks up to my register to be checked out. I begin ringing them out and my first question is always "How was your guy's day today?". The majority of the time you get "good" and sometimes you get the occasional "bad". This happened to be one of those times. My philosophy is if I can fix it, I want to fix it. so my question after this response was "Why?". The guests weren't too keen on telling me, but I could tell it was something bad, so although I had no clue why they had a bad day, I was gonna fix it. So, I asked if there was anything I could do to help make it better and the Husband explained that they were having to cut their trip short and the only thing they wanted to do was to eat at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium. At this point, I was dedicated to getting them a reservation. So, I quickly picked up the phone, called Guest Services and worked with my fellow Team Members to make this happen for the guests. It was the least I could do after their bad day. After I got the reservation confirmed I walked back to the guests and told them they were all set and the woman broke down into tears. Turns out her dog died suddenly that day and they were flying home to deal with it. She was devasted, but my kind act made their last night in Orlando a memory for them to have forever. This Scholarship money would help me get my degree so that I can help make memories like this for many more guests to come.