FGCU intern learns the hospitality biz

Residents walking into the Spa at the Bonita Bay Club will see a new face manning the front desk and helping out around the Fitness Center.

Her name is Kylee Snyder, 21, and she is an intern from the Resort and Hospitality Management program at Florida Gulf Coast University.

The internship is part of the required curriculum of the program, which is in its first year of operation.

“They have a new program at FGCU and I thought it was a neat program and I could learn a lot,” said Snyder, of Cape Coral. “I got into the (program) because I knew there was a lot I could do with it here.”

The internship supplements her double major that includes a degree in business management with a focus on entrepreneurship.

“It's so different in Southwest Florida and there are tons of resorts and hotels and I saw how saturated it was with this industry,” she said. “I figured that I could get a feel for what I want to do when I graduate.”

Although graduation is still a year or so away for Snyder and the internship will prepare her for what lies ahead, this isn't the first time Snyder has worked at Bonita Bay.

She began working at the club two years ago to fulfill an FGCU program requirement that has students work 500 hours of service learning in their field of study.

“I think things are really growing here. Even with the Bonita Bay Club and the two years I've been with them they have grown. It's a good experience that you don't get at school,” she said.

Sherie Brezina, director of Resort and Hospitality Management at FGCU, is happy that Snyder is the first of her students to get an internship that will teach her the in's and out's of the business.

“We worked with the club to get her the internship and put together a program that would help her learn what we focus on at FGCU,” said Brezina, who plans to have more students filling in to the club next year. “Their support helps FGCU offer the most comprehensive resort-management program in the country.”

Getting a top-notch education is important to Snyder and that's why her work in marketing, event planning, accounting and the fitness center and spa will prove invaluable in the future.

“I'm planning to keep my options open during the internship,” Snyder said about staying in the hotel and resort side following graduation. “I'm keeping an open mind, you never know what you want to do until you experience it.”