Welcoming Students to the Hospitality Industry

Welcoming Students To The Hospitality Industry

Hospitality management program expands facilities, degree options and opportunities

By Tara Roberts

Hospitality management students at Lewis-Clark State College once had to huddle around a single four-burner stove, taking turns stirring the dish they were learning to cook.

Now, students learn culinary skills in a state-of-the-art kitchen with a 32-burner teaching island. And that’s just one of the recent changes for the hospitality management program.

Hospitality management encompasses careers in the hospitality, travel and tourism industry — the third-largest industry in the world — including food and beverage services, hotel management, event planning and more.

In only a few years, LC State’s hospitality management program has grown from a handful of students on a single degree path to a versatile, industry-connected experience serving dozens of students.

“We have created relationships that elevate the experience not only in the classroom for these students, but then directly take them into industry. That is really something that makes our program so unique,” said Magen Goforth, assistant professor of culinary arts. “Our curriculum can change every semester based on what trends are for our industry. We are not teaching outdated information; we are teaching relevant information that changes constantly.”

Exploring The Industry

After 42 years in the restaurant industry, Rodney Farrington enrolled as a student in the hospitality program. After graduation in 2013, he opened a new restaurant — until he got a call in 2016 asking him to come back and teach.

Farrington, now an associate professor and director of hospitality programs at LC State, started with only two students. But he was driven to redesign the program to better serve the industry he loves. He recruited Goforth — former owner and chef at Brock’s and Brava’s restaurants in Lewiston — to help.

Together, they reimagined the hospitality management curriculum from the ground up, guided by a massive technical advisory board. In 2022, hospitality management officially added multiple options for technical certifications and associate degrees, with more on the horizon.

Associate students now start with a “Semester of Exploration” to get to know the industry.

“People think hospitality is just cooking or they think it’s just hotels. They don’t understand that there is almost no industry in existence that hospitality doesn’t touch,” Goforth said. “Our Semester of Exploration was designed to start creating those different ways of thinking, introducing them to different potential careers that they could have.”

Students then choose a pathway — currently hospitality management, culinary arts or hotel/resort management — tailored to their interests.

The professors infuse an “owner mindset” into every pathway, Farrington said. Students don’t necessarily jump from college to owning a business, but they understand the industry’s complexity.

“You learn all of the culinary skills, you learn the design skills, the bartending skills, but Magen and I are very much changing that concept. It’s not just the skills. We are training you to be successful,” Farrington said. “So every single one of our students leaves this program with the idea of how to run the business.”

Building A Career

Hospitality management’s new, 7,000-square-foot facility — including the kitchen funded by a Building Idaho’s Future grant — serves as students’ home base. But most of their classwork focuses on real-world experiences.

Students plan, host and cater regular events on campus and in the community, such as the Wine, Whiskers and Wags fundraiser for the Lewis-Clark Animal Shelter. Farrington and Goforth connect students with experiences and internships in their chosen field. They’re even in the process of designing a program in which students would live on-site and work for an industry partner, such as a resort or cruise line, while taking remote classes.

One of Goforth’s goals is to bridge the gap between going to work or going to school by marrying education and industry experience.

Hospitality Management Options

Associate Degrees

Hospitality Management

Culinary Arts

Hotel/Resort Management

Advanced Technical

Certification:

Hospitality Management

Intermediate Technical

Certification:

Food and Beverage Management

Front Office Management

“We want to make the decision easier for them, to put that value upfront so that they see it and they understand exactly what they’re getting out of their dollars when they invest in LC State and in the hospitality management program,” she said.

Meara van Dyke ’18 says her experience working at a Lewiston hotel while earning her degree helped her directly apply knowledge from her classes. She’s now the general manager at the Hilton Garden Inn Tri-Cities/Kennewick, and she said the “potential and passion that I had coming straight out of college” helped fast-track her career.

Andrew Thompson ’20, said the hospitality management program taught him a wide range of skills that have helped him in jobs such as his time as assistant manager of casino floor beverage services at Northern Quest Casino.

“I have to work alongside people who work on the hotel side, people who work in the entertainment side, and so getting such a wide range of knowledge about hospitality from the program better prepares me to be a good team member for those people, because I understand a lot of aspects of what they’re doing,” Thompson said. “It also just gives me opportunities to go work in so many different fields.”

Dear LC State Alumni and Friends,

In June, I was installed as the new President of the Lewis-Clark State College Foundation. Those who know me may wonder why a University of Idaho alum would want to be the President of the LC State College Foundation. The answer is simple; I want to do my part to support LC State. I have been a supporter of LC State for many years. Why? Because I enjoy supporting an underdog and I really love a true success story.

When I graduated from high school in 1970, LewisClark Normal School (LCNS) was still recovering from significant budget battles in the Idaho Legislature, which actually closed its doors from 1951-1955. When LCNS re-opened, it operated as a two-year branch of the University of Idaho limited to training elementary school teachers. In 1963, LCNS regained its autonomy and expanded its offerings to include four-year degrees. In 1970, LCNS was still getting its legs beneath it, but was much stronger than it had been just ten years earlier. I considered enrolling at LCNS, but chose the University of Idaho, instead, due to a generous ROTC scholarship.

Over the past 50-plus years, LC State has continued growing stronger and better. Through the hard work of exemplary administrators and teaching professionals, LC State has developed a national reputation as a premier educational institution. For example, in its 2022-2023 rankings, US News and World Report named LC State as a Top 10 public regional college in the West, and in the Top 10 for Best Value in regional colleges in the West. US News also recognized LC State as having one of the best undergraduate degree nursing programs. In June 2023, Nurse.org named LC State as the top nursing school in Idaho. Hard work and dedication produce success.

I have watched the progress of LC State for over 50 years and am proud and excited to be a part of the LC State College Foundation. The Foundation has been investing in students and providing educational opportunities since 1984. The Foundation supports and invests in LC State through its mission of promoting access, excellence, and relevance in higher education.

I look forward to leading the Foundation Board this year and hope that you will join me in supporting its mission.

Chris Moore President, LCSC Foundation

Most of the students who attend LC State are first-generation. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift today to make a lasting impact on their future!