Vast opportunities abound for this graduate

Tim Wilson

by Tim Wilson

The School of Hospitality Leadership’s training and platform have provided me with vast opportunities that I couldn’t have imagined when I first came to campus. I landed internships with MGM Resorts International in Las Vegas, Walt Disney World in Orlando and Aramark on ECU’s campus. Upon graduation, I accepted an opportunity to become a manager in training with Drury Hotels, and was promoted to assistant general manager four months later.

In my current position as an in-store sales partner with The Kraft Heinz Co., I am responsible for the sales and retail marketing of more than 200 products across 14 stores in the Asheville, North Carolina area. While sales and marketing are certainly different from the world of hospitality, the transferrable skillset I acquired through ECU and my past employment ventures enabled me to get off to a fast start.

In addition to other accomplishments, I was the first sales partner in both Carolinas to sell a large football stadium display into any store. Subsequently, my modified design has been used by my colleagues and sold into stores across the East Coast.

Even though I am no longer a student at ECU, I know that I am a member of an amazing alumni community and can rely on that as a resource moving forward. Looking back, even though I had many schools to consider for my undergraduate degree, I am elated that I made the decision to become a Pirate, specifically with the School of Hospitality Leadership.

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