June 11, 2008  

Pellissippi State students receive scholarships at Tourism Alliance luncheon

Two Hospitality students at Pellissippi State Technical Community College, Irene Huerto and Michelle Jenkins-Stigge, were recently awarded a scholarship from the Knoxville Tourism Alliance, and Huerto also was presented a scholarship from the East Tennessee Meeting Professionals Organization.

Huerto and Jenkins-Stigge each received $650 from the KTA to go toward furthering their education in the hospitality industry. In addition, Huerto was named the first recipient of the ETMP Deborah Redman Memorial Scholarship, which carries with it a $500 award. The scholarships were presented at a KTA awards luncheon.

A graduate of Farragut High School, Huerto is an employee of Little Joe’s Pizza. She has a 3.2 grade point average in the college’s Hospitality concentration and is pursuing a future in event planning.

“I decided I want to do event planning because I have a lot of fun planning parties,” she said. “I’ve gotten a whole view of what event planning would be like through the Hospitality program,” she said.

Jenkins-Stigge is a graduate of Central High School. She maintains a 3.2 GPA. The Hospitality student works for Gridiron Burgers and is also a student at Tennessee School of Beauty. She plans to graduate from Pellissippi State in summer 2009 and wants to open her own business.

“It will probably be a mixture of a lot of things,” she said of the business. “The hospitality and cost control classes will help me start a business ‘smart.’”

KTA is the voice of the local lodging and hospitality industry. It was formed by combining the Knoxville Tourist Bureau and the Greater Knoxville Hotel/Motel Association. ETMP supports meeting and event professionals by providing education, career development and networking.

Pellissippi State students interested in the hospitality industry earn an associate’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Hospitality. Hospitality has three paths—Tourism/Travel, Lodging, and Food and Beverage—any of which provides students with the necessary skills to gain entry into the hospitality industry as management trainees.

“We’ve got about 70 students taking classes, some full time, some part time,” said Tom Gaddis, Hospitality coordinator. “Of those who have graduated and entered the workforce directly, we’ve had 100 percent placement.”

For more information about Hospitality, contact Tom Gaddis at (865) 971-5246, the Business and Computer Technology Department at (865) 694-6656 or Enrollment Services at (865) 694-6400.

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