The Decision

Why did you choose The Hotel School and not another business school? I would be lying if I said that I am not continuously asked this question over and over again by family members, friends, and acquaintances. Everyone wants to know what makes The Hotel School so appealing, so vibrant, and so unique. Well, for me, it was the Hotelie network.

When I first arrived at The Hotel School in August 2016, I barely knew what CHS was. I soon learned that the Cornell Hotel Society, Collegiate Chapter is the link between the school and its vast alumni network. I wanted to get involved and add value to my new community of Hotelies and I immediately knew that getting involved with CHS was the way to go about it. I did not know what position to run for, but when I thought about it, there was only one position that made the most sense: VP of Alumni Affairs. In December, I ran for the position in order to provide students with more access to opportunity at The Hotel School.

Now, as VP of Alumni Affairs of CHS, CC, I am working to further engage students and alumni. I want each and every student to see the value of utilizing the great alumni network we have access to in order to learn, seek career advice, and potentially even get an internship or job.

The strength of the Hotelie network became clear to me in March 2017 when I attended the Hunter Hotel Conference in Atlanta. Whether I had previously met them or not, every Hotelie that I met greeted me with such warmth and offered to sit down with me and talk about my career path and share their advice. I cannot think of another community of busy business professionals who exude the same type of kindness and passion towards others in the same community like the Cornell Hotelie community.

After the conference was done, Mark Woodworth and Robert Mandelbaum of CBRE invited myself and another student to their office in Atlanta to simply chat and learn from each other. To this day, I am blown away that two busy businessmen would take an hour out of their hectic day to meet with me, a freshman, simply because they are alumni of my school. Situations like these are what make The Hotel School and the Cornell Hotel Society so special to me.

CHS is so much more than an alumni association. It is a lifestyle. The Cornell Hotel Society brings people together and forms unimaginable bonds and experiences. The opportunities that CHS provides are limitless. As I near the completion of my freshman year, I am so grateful to this community for embracing me and showing me what it truly means to be a Hotelie For Life.

-Adam Shapiro ‘20