Student has passion to give back.

Throughout her years in the College of Business Administration, Luisa Mendoza (BS '05) has wanted to give back to the people who have helped her. Receiving her degree from the School of Hospitality Travel & Tourism Management from Florida International University is her latest achievement in a long list. To her, that also means lots of reciprocating.

Before becoming an active member of an organization for high school students called the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism, Mendoza planned to be a child psychologist.

"When I joined the Academy, its scholarship, networking, and marketing programs got me interested in the field," said Mendoza, who recently landed a job as catering sales manager at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Sawgrass Mills, following six months as an assistant in the sales and catering department of the Renaissance Plantation Hotel.

Mendoza began her academic career at Johnson & Wales University, earning an associate of arts degree, before transferring to the University.

"The curriculum at Florida International University was relevant to industry and gave me the knowledge that I use today," she said.

While at FIU, she narrowed her career focus through internships—at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Broward County Convention Center—and jobs that enabled her to experience every aspect of the hospitality business.

Along the way, she's given back to the Academy—and other organizations—as a way to say thanks for their support.

"I've gone from being a student in the Academy to being one of its business partners," she said. "I speak to high school groups and help raise money for scholarships, among other contributions. It's also a great way for me to showcase where I work—a win-win situation for the students and for my employer."

Despite her youth, she already has served as chairwoman of the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism Program in Broward County. While at the University, she was president of the Travel and Tourism Club, graduated with a 3.46, consistently achieved the Dean's List, and was heavily involved in the National Academy Foundation (www.naf.org), which named her a National Alumni Honoree in 2003.

"The Academy recognizes ten people each year, out of more than 40,000 members," she said. "They look at academics, service, and where people are in their careers. I was one of the youngest to be honored, which was a huge thrill for me."

Luisa Mendoza and Sanford I. Weill, Chairman Citigroup, Inc.

She had made her mark at the national level in 2001, attending the NAF Annual Conference at which she presented a teen travel guide to 150 teachers who taught in the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism. The brochure on how to promote your destination grew out of a pilot project at her school, done for Tera Faso, Academy facilitator for Broward County Public Schools, and schools across the country have since implemented the concept.

"My brochure was selected as the best and I won tickets to Disneyworld as well as the opportunity to present the piece at the conference in San Antonio, TX, where I was the first student presenter at the NAF Annual Conference," she said.

In New York in 2004, at the annual NAF Gala, which raised $1.3 million for Academy programs across the country, Mendoza was photographed with the founder of NAF, Sanford I. Weill, chairman of Citigroup, Inc.

"In addition to only being seventeen when she presented in San Antonio, Luisa was the first student to be named chair in our Academy Hospitality and Tourism program and at age twenty, was the youngest person to hold the position," said Faso. Echoing Mendoza's words, she said, "Luisa has a passion and desire to give back to her family and the people who have helped her in her life."

For nearly twenty years, the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism has been exposing high school students like Mendoza to their career options and arming them with the tools they need to succeed. Other academies in this "school within a school" program offer curricula in areas such as finance, IT, and more.

"The high school students really relate to college students who come to make presentations," Faso said. "Participating is a great way for people who, like Luisa, want to help others achieve their career goals."