Abigail Schwartz

HTM301
Mentor Network
Part One

Goal 1: I want to leave every workday satisfied and happy about my job. I would be content
knowing that I took part in helping better my place of work. I would also feel great sense of
accomplishment knowing my contribution helped make the business more successful.

Goal 2: I will improve the lives of the people I work with by being a positive influence, working
hard, and leading by example.

Mentor 1: Peer Mentor- Karen Giovannini

Karen and I have already met once in the San Diego State University library to just get familiar
with one another; we got into such a deep conversation quickly which allowed me to open up to
her professionally and personally. I am inspired by her dedication to the HTM program being a
transfer student, therefore I plan to meet with her often throughout the semester and continue to
keep in touch via email and phone once she graduates. With our in person meetings during the
semester, I will use Karen as a resource to help me achieve my goals realistically while still
being a student. We are both in the same stages of our lives right now, so it will be helpful to
understand how to keep my goals in mind while still being a college student and not fully in the
workforce. In addition to my goals, we she will be giving me advice to help me be successful in
the HTM program at SDSU since she was enrolled in all the classes I am taking right now.
Although we touched on the topic already in our first meeting, Karen said we could discuss my
after college plans since I will be applying for the management training program and am unsure
of which hotel company to go with. We both agreed to keep in touch via text message during this
semester specifically and meet up for lunch, Starbucks, and study sessions. During all of these
she said she is willing to advise me on classes I should take and jobs that I should be looking for
in addition to helping me achieve my goals. I am very excited about being matched with an
actual SDSU HTM student and be able to use her wisdom and knowledge to help me!

Mentor 2: Professional Mentor- Steven Lyons

Steven Lyons is the Senior Vice President of Diamond Resorts International. He is currently
living in Las Vegas, Nevada (my hometown), therefore during the semester we plan to be in
contact via Facetime, email, phone call, and text messaging as often as I want he said. In addition
if I am able to go home for a weekend, we will make plans to meet in person. Beyond this
semester I will make an effort to stay in touch with Steven by possibly applying for a job in
Diamond Resorts International, phone calls/text messages/emails, and planning a meeting with
him over the summer when I move back home to Las Vegas, Nevada so I can thank him for
mentoring me. Although the two career goals I made for myself are technically for the “future
me” when I enter the workplace, Steven believes these goals can also be translated into the terms
of my life right now as a college student. We will translate my goals into how I can exemplify
them in my everyday life now to become a better well-rounded person, therefore when I get into
the workplace these goals can be achieved. In addition to the discussion about my goals, I am
looking to be inspired by Steven by hearing about his story of how he got to be so successful
within the hospitality industry. Inspiration is always so motivating for me therefore I know this
will help me become a stronger individual in regards to hotel management.

Mentor 3: Professional Mentor- Matt Greene

Matt Greene is the hotel general manager at the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego. One of my career
aspirations is to one day become a hotel general manager therefore I thought it would be a good
idea to have him be my mentor to gain insight on the job. Throughout the semester we will meet
in person as well as email back and forth. I plan to meet with Matt in person at least one time this
semester in order to establish a face-to-face relationship since he is also in San Diego. I met Matt
last semester when I reached out to him about completing an interview for my HTM496 class
and felt really inspired by his words so I decided to reach out to him again for this mentor
project. I also hope to complete my internship at the Hard Rock Hotel so keeping a professional
relationship with him after the completion of my mentor project will be crucial; I will do this
through email. Since Matt has one of my highly desired jobs, I plan to use this for my benefit in
regards to my goals. I would love to hear his insight on how my goals relate to the job
specifically. Matt from the beginning has been a person who believes hard work will get you to
the top and my values align to the same concept so I’m eager to be able to have a conversation
with him about how my values could get me far in the workplace

Mentor 4: Personal Mentor – Richard Schwartz

Richard Schwartz is my father who is a physician currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada (my
hometown). Although the career path I am getting into is the opposite of my father, I chose him
to be my mentor due to the way he inspires me to work hard, be motivated, and do whatever it
takes to be successful. When I asked him to be my mentor, he was honored and said we could
have “mentor sessions” anytime during the week over Facetime as many times as I wanted. He
serves as a peer mentor to another student here at San Diego State University, but this student is
in the pre-biomedical major, therefore he is familiar with the concept of mentoring. Already, my
father and I have reviewed my goals and he assisted in combining all my ideas into two goals. I
will be using him as a resource of what I want to exemplify in regards to the drive to succeed.
Growing up my father’s family did not have a lot of money therefore when it came time for
college he was the only one out of his three siblings to attend and after that medical school. From
the stories he tells me from medical school to his job today it is always about standing out,
making companies need you more than you need them, working hard, and having passion for
what you do. I plan to discuss in detail these different ways to be successful in the workplace as
well as in school.

Personal Touch: Overall, I am really looking forward to having four incredible mentors to help
me not only be successful in the hospitality industry but also in life. I will continue relationships
with these individuals throughout college as well as my career and recognize them as the people
who helped me grow. I will do my best to take advantage of all the time and information I can
get from them!