Out of her friend group, 对此那不勒斯 was always the planner, and her friends often 依靠她来预定座位.

“我总是喜欢带头，”她说.

Still, a career in tourism and hospitality – specifically event planning – was not something she had contemplated when she began at 蒙哥马利县社区学院 2019年秋季的文科专业. That is, until Shawn Murray, MCCC Assistant 旅游学教授 & 热情好客 Management, opened her eyes to the possibilities.

“Professor Murray was a huge role model for me,” said Napoli, who switched to a 旅游 & 热情好客 major and received instruction from Murray in approximately nine of her 11 courses. “Montco really gave me a clear vision, a clear path of what I wanted to do. 没有 Professor Murray, I don’t know if I would be at Florida International University now.”

Napoli, of Philadelphia, graduated from MCCC summa cum laude and was a member of the College’s Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. 她优异的学习成绩， coupled with an event planning internship at a resort in Texas and her work at the 位于纽约州樱桃山的首都格栅.J., all helped her transfer to Florida International 2022年春季大学.

“I wasn’t even looking at FIU at first,” Napoli said. 默里教授引导着我 这种方式.”

Through a partnership with FIU, all of her MCCC credits transferred seamlessly. 她是 即将在12月毕业.

“Briana’s future is so bright,” Murray said. “我真的为她能做到这一点感到骄傲 to take our academic programming at 蒙哥马利县社区学院 and not only launch her career but transfer to one of the top hospitality & 旅游学校 世界.”

Since relocating to Miami, Napoli has participated in two study abroad programs. In December 2022, she took a three-week cruise in South America, traveling to Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and the Falkland Islands. 在船上，她完成了两个 courses, one in culinary and another in cruise operations. 时机正好与 世界杯.

“We got to experience everything,” she said. “这是一生一次的经历.”

In February, she spent a week at the Beaches Resort in Jamaica shadowing the bartending team and 事件 department, helping to set up weddings and learning about the legal rights required to get married outside of the U.S.

In May, Napoli began interning at a luxury event planning business in Miami, with her main duties centering on wedding and special 事件 planning, as well as social 媒体管理与营销. Two months into her internship, Napoli was offered 公司的带薪职位.

For Napoli, the opportunity is one that will allow her to continue to grow in her 所选领域.

“I really would like to keep on learning as much as I can,” she said. “我是个有进取心的人.”

Following graduation from FIU, Napoli wants to stay in Miami, travel, and plan destination 事件. She also intends to pursue a master’s degree in business to better prepare her for the ultimate goal: owning an event-planning business.

给n the competitive nature of the industry, Napoli said she’s glad to have had access 中冶集团拥有如此丰富的资源.

 “The academic knowledge I learned and experiences as a tourism student at MCCC have truly prepared me to excel as a student at FIU,” Napoli said.

那不勒斯转到旅游业 & 热情好客 field in the midst of the pandemic and is seeing firsthand what a booming industry it is.

“Since COVID and everyone putting their 事件 off and cancelling and rescheduling, 我们的行业正在蓬勃发展。. “Everyone is looking for a celebration now.”

Even when tourism halted in the greater Philadelphia area because of the pandemic, Murray arranged student internships in Washington State and at Yellowstone National 开展自然旅游的公园.

“Whether participating like Briana in international study abroad programming or transferring to a top university like FIU, the MCCC 旅游 & 酒店管理课程提供 truly amazing career and academic experiences for students,” Murray said.

书院旅游 & 酒店管理课程提供 excellent transfer opportunities to attend top academic institutions along with career connections with top firms such as Marriott Hotels, Kimpton Hotels, and Walt Disney Companies for students 获得行业经验.