A team of three UCF Rosen College students placed second in an inter-university scholarship competition sponsored by ARDA’s International Foundation. Senior Ryan Dowling, sophomore Shelby Brandt and senior Donald Warren, all hospitality management majors, received complimentary conference registration to attend the ARDA World Convention in Las Vegas from April 6 – 10, in addition to air fare and accommodations.
Teams of students from universities around the world were asked to submit a Resort Crisis Communication Plan in response to a case study, which was judged by a panel of industry experts, including representatives from the HR Council and the AIF Education and ARDA Communications Committees. Members of the top three teams each received the AIF Academic Outreach Scholarship and presented their proposal to the Communications Committee at the convention.
Taking on the challenge of the competition demonstrates a strong level of commitment to learning more about the industry,” said Darla Zanini, executive vice president of the ARDA International Foundation. “It also gives students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to work effectively in a team environment. Additionally students are asked to think outside the box to develop solutions to issues our industry faces every day and if they do a good job, they will be remembered.”
The students credit their experiences and education at Rosen College for their success in the competition, emphasizing the value of networking opportunities with the timeshare industry.
One of the biggest keys to our success with this scholarship is Rosen’s placement in the heart of the timeshare industry and its carefully crafted relationships with industry,” said senior Donald Warren, a hospitality management major and member of the Rosen College team that presented at the ARDA World Convention. “Additionally the outreach and involvement of the timeshare industry at our campus, like the CFHLA Meet and Greets and the Timeshare Executive Panel, have given us valuable face-to-face interactions that many other programs and universities simply do not have access to. This gave our team a competitive advantage in learning and developing our knowledge about the timeshare industry.”
In addition to the scholarship competition team, a group of Rosen College students attended the ARDA World Convention with Dr. Amy Gregory: Brendan Hawkins, Kyle Patterson (Futures in Vacation Ownership Student Club Officer), Jacqueline Hogston, Madelyn Arias, Zachary Egloff, Yanique Bryan, Alexa Levin and Shelby Brandt (Futures in Vacation Ownership Student Club Officer).
For more information about timeshare education at UCF, please visit hospitality.ucf.edu.