Atlanta native lands coveted internship despite pandemic

The global COVID-19 pandemic continues to greatly impact the hospitality industry, from shuttering restaurants and entertainment venues to limiting travel abroad and canceling internships for college students pursuing hospitality degrees.

But with the help of a country club in Arkansas, three seniors in Stephen F. Austin State University’s hospitality administration program completed their internships. They also had a lot of fun this summer serving others and building their confidence for their future careers.

Kelly Allen, daughter of Randy and Tonya Allen of Atlanta, and her classmates Arlene Turcios of Tyler and Kamrin Sprott of Livingston honed their culinary and operations skills at The Country Club of Little Rock and earned credits for their hospitality administration internship course at SFA.

Most of SFA’s hospitality administration students complete their internships during the summer in destinations all over the country and abroad, said Dr. Mary Olle, associate professor of hospitality administration in SFA’s School of Human Sciences.

“Unfortunately, COVID-19 resulted in most of our students’ internships being canceled,” Olle said.

Those students had the option of completing a virtual internship that featured live Zoom sessions with industry professionals, webinars with industry leaders, and professional skill development training with SFA’s Center for Career and Professional Development.

Though their original internship plans were canceled, Allen, Sprott and Turcios didn’t have to go the virtual route.

David Sumpter, senior food and beverage manager for The Country Club of Little Rock, is part of the team that coordinates the club’s internship program. The team usually recruits 12 to 15 interns from India, Jamaica and the Philippines to create a cultural experience for international interns who learn management and leadership skills to use in their careers when they return home. They gain general knowledge of the club, including its banquet and events operations.

But the pandemic prevented these interns from leaving their home countries this summer. It also greatly reduced the club’s banquet and events operations.

“We had to drastically change our summer internships due to COVID-19,” Sumpter said.

The focus of the internship shifted to the club’s pickup and to-go operations, the pool and snack bar areas, and cost controls and inventory procedures. Intern recruitment also changed.

“We reached out to local universities for the first time and received a huge response,” Sumpter said.

Olle heard Sumpter’s call and notified Allen, Sprott and Turcios, who learned in May that their summer internships at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming had been canceled due to COVID-19.

“Yellowstone was going to be a risky situation,” Allen said. “The employees are housed in dorm-style living, so it would have been nearly impossible to separate us if there was a COVID outbreak among the staff.”

The three were preparing to replace their in-person Yellowstone internships with the hospitality administration program’s virtual internship when Olle told them about the late-breaking openings at The Country Club of Little Rock. All three jumped at the opportunity, and after some Zoom interviews, they secured their summer in Arkansas at one of the oldest country clubs west of the Mississippi River.

“I am proud of Arlene, Kamrin and Kelly for taking advantage of the opportunities presented to them to apply their knowledge and skills in real-world, hands-on settings during this time of uncertainty for the industry,” Olle said.

Sumpter was glad to have the help.

“Arlene, Kamrin and Kelly stepped in and became part of our family,” he said. “We were truly blessed to have partnered with SFA and cannot give enough accolades to Arlene, Kamrin and Kelly for the work they did and for ensuring our club was successful during these challenging times.” 

Allen worked with the country club’s executive chef to learn all aspects of the kitchen, food production and cost controls.

In the pantry, or cold kitchen, Allen tended to salads, cold sandwiches and desserts, as well as made dressing and hummus. At the snack bar, she gained experience with the grill, fryer, salad station and pickup window.

“I really appreciated the opportunity to move around and see different areas of the kitchen,” Allen said. “However, coming back to the main kitchen and returning to the pantry was nice because I realized how much trust they placed in us then. I was given full responsibility of the back corner of this kitchen to prepare salads and so much more.”

Allen added, “No one told me what to do. It was purely up to me to take what I learned in the first week of shadowing and apply it. It was also my responsibility to ask questions if I needed something I was unsure about.”

The pandemic, which closed the clubhouse and dining rooms to members, did offer Allen a silver lining.

“Being my first time in the kitchen, I was grateful that I got to learn the basics in a slower-paced environment,” she said. “We didn’t have to serve numerous dining rooms — just the occasional rush of orders that came in all at once — so I learned how to plan ahead.”

At the beginning of her internship, Allen said she found herself relying too much on Turcios while they worked together in the kitchen at the country club.

“When we went to work in our own areas, I was nervous to be left alone at first,” Allen said. “But I found that I was capable of doing what was asked of me. I learned I didn’t need Arlene’s affirmation to make sure I was doing something right. I needed to trust in my own ability and knowledge instead.”

Allen was honored by how much trust her managers at the country club showed her.

“They trusted us with all that goes on behind the scenes,” she said. “I loved that the managers understood we were there to learn and experience as much as we could.”

Allen felt “valued and seen” when she was asked to sit in on meetings like a job interview in the kitchen during which the interviewee was presenting five dishes.

“I never thought this would be the case, but this internship not only showed me that they believe in me, but it also helped me prove my abilities to myself.”

Though she initially attended SFA to become an educator like her parents, Allen learned her true passion was service in the hospitality field when she joined the Servant Team at the Baptist Student Ministry across the street from SFA.

“I learned that I could major in service!” Allen said. “However, I came to realize that there is so much more to hospitality than service when I enrolled in the degree program.”

SFA’s hospitality administration program features five focus areas: culinary, lodging, meeting and planning, travel and tourism, and restaurant. Allen selected culinary.

“I had this dream of going to culinary school and getting to bake cookies for the rest of my life, but I never really thought of it as an actual possibility.”

Though she realizes a hospitality career won’t be easy, Allen’s ready for the challenge.

“Yes, I most likely will have to work weekends and holidays and be constantly on my feet, but the experience I will provide my guests will be worth it,” she said.

She’s grateful to SFA for helping her determine her true passion and career path.

“We have fantastic professors in the hospitality administration program,” Allen said. “Our program is so small that you learn about everyone’s family and they learn about yours. You might even find a family within our hospitality program.”

For more information on SFA’s hospitality administration program, contact Olle at ollemary@sfasu.edu.