8/14/2019 Premier Fall 08 Andrew Kao

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REMIERREMIER

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A WILLIAM F. HARRAH COLLEGE OF HOTEL ADMINISTRATION PUBLICATION ISSUE 1 VOLUM

World

UNLV Alumnus George Maloof

takes success in stride

takes success in stride

UNLV Alumnus Geor e Maloof

Palmsin his

The

8/14/2019 Premier Fall 08 Andrew Kao

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PREMIER FALL 2008

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Student Spotlight

A s a frequent visitor to Las Vegas as a child,Andrew Kao got to know the city prettywelleven mapping out the entire FashionShow Mall floor plan in his head. Now, at 20-

years-old, Kao is mapping out his future.A triple major in hospitality, meeting

and events, and lodging management, plus

focusing on a Japanese minor, Kao relies onhis iPhone and Google calendar to coordinate

the days and nights that he seemingly eats,breaths and sleeps the hotel college. Nostranger to the hospitality profession (his

father runs a hotel in California), the Burbank,Calif. natives ambitious career path is already

taking shape. He attends class and worksfull-time, assists with special events in town,

attends professional luncheons, conventions

and meetingslocally, around the nation andoverseasand chairs the UNLV International

Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE)student chapter.

The allure of working in hospitality brings ina mix of all his interestsfrom working behind

the scenes in an office setting and managingfinances to interacting with people and creatinginnovative ways to enhance a customers

experience. Hes energetic about what he doesand will sign up for any project that comes to

him.I want to learn what every industry does

and every segment of how a hotel runs. Thereare so many parts of a hotel that have to cometogether for the guests experience, Kao says.

Everything is done very glamorously here. Itsa very good concentration of everything that

is good about the hospitality industry, whichis packed in this tiny strip. You cant find thisanywhere else in the world.

Kao began working at Tahiti Vacation Club,a time-share company, as a front-desk agent

two years ago and is now a shift manager.He plans to graduate in 2010, and hes aiming

for general manager before graduation. Hes

aware graduates traditionally do not reach thatlevel of management before they move their

tassels to the left, but that doesnt stop Kaofrom looking ahead. An MBA and owning his

own hotel are also on his list of things to do.My main goal is to end up in the lodging

industry. A large property does have several

departments under it, Kao says. A goodgeneral manager or above should worry about

and understand all these departments.Being in IAEE and attending networking

and educational events helps hotel college

students like Kao gain practical experience

needed before entering the workforce, saysCurtis Love, associate professor in the tourismand convention management department and

advisor for IAEE.Hes already creating a professional

network as a student. Hes building a niceresume to make him more marketable in this

economy, says Love. Kao encourages fellowstudents to be involved, actively recruits newmembers and keeps the group up to date on

the latest events and IAEE news. Hes a verymotivated, driven and hard worker.

Attending seminars and conventions canbecome costly, especially on a students

budget. However, the hotel college uses privatedonations to pay for all or portions of student

trips. Kao received a $500 scholarship fromGES Exhibition Services and the $2,500 HelenBrett scholarship.

Thanks to a $7,500 scholarship, Kao waspart of a four-student group that traveled with aUNLV professor to Austria for the International

Tourism Students Conference held in April.There they presented research on the history

and future of meeting and event managementin the U.S. Exchanging ideas and meeting

students from abroad gave the group globalperspectives on how hospitality works aroundthe world, Kao says. Through the Internet,

Kao has been able to stay connected with thestudents he met.

Kao and other students just like him haveattended meetings and conferences in San

Diego, Las Vegas, Seattle and, in the nextfew months, will be heading to Miami forthe IAEE national convention and to New

Orleans to attend the Professional ConventionManagement Association.

Scholarship money makes this possible,Kao says. Our goal is to get every studentwhos actively involved in our organization a job

before they graduate.

Every chance Kao gets is an opportunityto talk about UNLV and the hotel college. Hesays hes going to be an alumnus one day and

wants to raise awareness about the quality andcapabilities of students at the hotel college.

At a recent luncheon with the Las Vegas

Hotel Association, Kao marveled at howmany UNLV graduates represented several

companies.Its exciting to see that this is what Im

going to be doing a couple of years fromnow.

Andrew Kao

Afsha Bawany

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