Monta Vista High School Wins Annual Lodging Competition for the Second Year in a Row
Sacramento, Calif. -- High school hospitality students from Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, California took home the international title in the eleventh annual American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (EI) International Hospitality & Tourism Management Competition (HTMP) for the second year in a row.
The Monta Vista team of 10th graders Madeleine Liu, Albert Zeng, Michael Lin and Shannon Yu, under the leadership of teacher Carl Schmidt, took top honors at the annual competition, held last week in Orlando, Florida. Last year, Monta Vista was the first ever California team to enter the competition. “The best news of all, based upon the performance of this team, and others like them, is that the challenges of hospitality tomorrow will be ably met by the students of today,” said Carl Schmidt.
Each year, the HTMP Competition (formerly the Lodging Management Program (LMP) competition) hosts students from around the world to showcase their skills in a 2-day competition that challenges participants with events based on real-world job scenarios. Students compete for scholarship dollars from leading hospitality universities and a trip to New York City for the AH&LA Fall Conference and the Int’l Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show, where they have the opportunity to meet and network with the leaders of the lodging industry.
Mr. Schmidt incorporated the Hospitality & Tourism Management Program into his curriculum in September 2012, recognizing there was a need to teach about the fundamentals of the lodging industry. As well as a teacher, Mr. Schmidt is the founder of the hospitality program at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, as well as the Chair of California DECA, and the Director of the Silicon Valley DECA. DECA is a non-profit organization with a 60 year history of preparing emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe.
Mr. Schmidt was recognized as a Teacher of Excellence by the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Educational Institute on earlier this month at their annual Legislative Action Summit in Washington D.C.
“Congratulations to the team at the Monta Vista High School and Carl Schmidt, for once again, winning this prestigious competition,” said Lynn Mohrfeld, CAE, President & CEO of the California Hotel & Lodging Association. “We are very proud of this team for their representation of the hospitality students of California.”
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The California Hotel & Lodging Association Educational Foundation (CH&LAEF) is the not-for-profit educational arm of the California Hotel & Lodging Association (CH&LA). CH&LAEF is dedicated to developing hospitality leaders of the future, providing continuing education for current hospitality employees, and funding research to shape the future of California’s lodging industry. Since its inception, over $1 million has been distributed through CH&LAEF’s scholarship, education, outreach, and research programs. CH&LAEF is funded solely by charitable donations from generous leaders and companies within the hospitality industry.
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