Monday, June 29, 2015

Starwood Hotel and Resort Worldwide for the Win!

I woke this morning at 6:30 AM with a raging pit in my stomach. I was more than positive it was due to the fact I had my presentation today. Even through all the preparation my team has done for the past few day, I was still nervous. The unbearable thought that I might mess up during the presentation kept running through my mind. Trying to shake the bad thoughts, I constantly went over the points the presentation. I got the strength to get out of my bed and get ready. I wore my nice dress clothes and my nice dress shoes to start off my day. Part of my preparations for the morning was preparing all my books and notes for class as well as meet Julie at 6:50 AM to get breakfast. 

Julie and I briefly had breakfast. We hurried because we wanted to get to class as fast as we could and early. We wanted to make sure everything for the presentation was running smoothly for our groups. When we arrived there were already other students working on final details for the presentation. I've never walked into the class with complete silence. The class was intense, there was no other word to explain it. There was no need for any brief greetings in the morning. There was no "Good Morning" or "Hello" from any of my peers because we understood that those moments were the most crucial moments. 

The atmosphere was a lot different from what I experienced from my high school, but I assumed this because the course is rigorous. My sisters and I often discuss how college what like for them. They would tell me for some courses it will be fun and others not so fun, but there will always be times when the class is intense. I never really understood the intensity of a college level course until I took this class. In addition to that I've taken classes at Contra Costa Community College and all the classes that I've taken at the community college weren't as intense as the Hotel Management Course.

When class began, all the groups sat next with one another and the list of presentations began. There were twenty groups that had to go. My group was the ninetieth on that list. We understood that near the end of the presentations everyone would be tired and antsy to leave, therefore we had to make our presentation entertaining. Of course we were going to keep the important information the same, we just needed something fun to go along with our presentation. 

During the break time between each presentation, my group and I tried finding ways to keep our audience entertained. After some time of contemplation our group finally got it. Now it was up to the audience to decide if it goes well or not. 

Each presentation was unique. We learned about different hotel companies. We learned about their corporate strategies, brands, and some of their global initiatives. I wanted to listen closely because I knew that there would be a test in the near future about the different hotels and their brands. As I was watching the other groups present, I couldn't help but think of all the things we could have improved on on our own presentation. The butterflies came again. I was so nervous I couldn't quite shake it away. I turned to Amanda and said, "Amanda, I am really nervous." She replied,"Shanti, we will be fine. Just try your best." With that in my mind I looked at my notes and tried to do what she told me to do and that was to try my best. 

It was our turn to go. My team and I went up to the front of the class and started our presentation. Since we knew that most of the students were a bit dosed off, we got their attention with our "grabber". We sang a verse from Sam Smith's song, "I'm Not the Only One", and change the lyrics to "You say you are the best, cause we haven't presented yet." I was so afraid this wasn't going to work but it did. We saw that the student's attention was more toward us and they were more awake. In addition the students as well as the professors had a little chuckle. We went on with out presentation. Since I was terrible nervous, I did mess up. I wasn't perfect but I did try my best to pick up where I was from and deliver the best presentation I could. Since our company was Starwood Hotel and Resort Worldwide, the stack market ticker for the company was NYSE: HOT. Previously Mr.McCarthy told us we could poke fun since we had such a great ticker. Therefore when my teammate, Matt, brought it up, all of us in unison said "oooooo sssssssss!" We mimicked a sizzling noise which also helped the audience be more attentive! 
Our Outstanding Class!
My A-Team, 10B!
I am proud of all of us!
Our presentation went really well overall! My team and I were really happy with our results. We also know what we need to improve on as a group.


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