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| What aspects of your education have proven most important for your job? |
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I think the hotel industry is very team driven. Any individual who is successful at a team event, whether it is in sports or whatever, there’s a good chance that the hotel industry may suit you. Everything we do is in teams. That’s really what I got out of school, more than anything.
In addition, being good at numbers - maths, is fairly essential for everything we do, regardless of what industry you are in. Its something that I personally enjoyed over the years. When I was in school we didn’t use calculators so being able to do things in your head was important, something I’m very lucky I can still do.
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| What is your education to date? |
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I went to Colaiste Lorcáin in Castledermot where I spent five years for the Leaving Cert. I then went to IT Carlow to study to be a Mechanical Engineer, and hated it.
From there, I was lucky enough to be chosen for a Training Manager Development program with (now) Failte Ireland. I received my degree after four years.
From then I did a multitude of different courses, from Cornell University in the US to all the various in-house training programs, in the Hilton, Ritz-Carlton or Marriott.
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| What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path? |
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They didn’t!
I took honours Engineering, honours Physics, and honours Chemistry. The other subject I had was Technical Drawing.
If I was to do it again, I would do French and Home Economics, and the Engineering because it did help me in this role, and probably Business. I would take more on the finance side if I knew I was taking this route.
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| Have you undertaken, or do you plan to undertake any further training as part of your job? |
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Very much so, absolutely, it’ll continue to be ongoing. I’m looking in 2008 or 2009 to further my education with the Aspen Institute, the world renowned Business School. Those modules vary in their length of time, usually they’re block modules for a couple of weeks. Most industry leaders will have spent some time at the Aspen Institute.
That’s just one example, education doesn’t stop, especially when you work for a large company. We tend to be very strong in the education of our people, whether it’s the first step into the company or General Manager.
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