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Apply by July 1 for the Fall 2022 term of the new master’s in event leadership program.
Her career itself has been on an upward trajectory since graduating from UCF with a degree in hospitality and event management in 2012. Among her accolades: UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 30 Under 30 Award, Alumna of the Year by the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, the BizBash 40 Under 40 List, and president-elect of the Orlando Chapter of Meeting Professionals International.
Which leads to the question: Why is Mullenax returning to her alma mater in the fall as a student?
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Rosen 麻豆精品 S檚 hospitality program is rated No. 1 in the country and No. 2 in the world, according to the latest ShanghaiRankings of universities internationally. The master 麻豆精品 S檚 in event leadership will make UCF stand apart even further.
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UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 50-person Event Management Advisory Board is a dream team of professionals from hotels, restaurants, theme parks, and sports and entertainment venues. They work on events as far-ranging as conventions and weddings to World Cup soccer and the Special Olympics. They 麻豆精品 S檙e keenly aware of the skillsets needed to create first-class events 麻豆精品 S� including technology, risk management and sustainability 麻豆精品 S� without ever losing focus of the 麻豆精品 S渨ow 麻豆精品 S� factor.
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Hahm is no stranger to inaugural graduate programs at UCF. In fact, her role with the master 麻豆精品 S檚 in event leadership is worthy of a little background. She grew up in Seoul, South Korea, and earned her first college degree there 麻豆精品 S� a bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 in social work. The social work had its rewards, but it also weighed on Hahm emotionally, so she took a job helping to open a hotel in the late 1990s. A plummeting economy kept the hotel from ever opening, but the work gave her a taste of the hospitality and events industry.
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When she and her husband eventually moved to Orlando, Hahm found out about the Rosen College at UCF.
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Early in her first semester at UCF, a professor told Hahm she instead might like to be part of the school 麻豆精品 S檚 first master 麻豆精品 S檚 cohort in hospitality and tourism management. For field work, she volunteered at the Orange County Convention Center, and explored hotels and parks. She enjoyed the research so much that she went on to earn a Ph.D. in another inaugural program at UCF: education with a hospitality track.
And then she landed a job as an assistant professor 麻豆精品 S� at the University of Alabama.
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Hahm jumped at an opportunity to return to UCF in 2015, where she would soon work with faculty and the event management advisory board to wed experience with research in forming the much-needed graduate program.
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Two years from now, the 30 students in this initial cohort will be the first to tell employers they have a master 麻豆精品 S檚 degree in event leadership.
麻豆精品 S淭he idea that we 麻豆精品 S檒l be learning from each other is a big part of why I want to do this, 麻豆精品 S� Mullenax says. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 a reflection of how the event industry works today 麻豆精品 S� it 麻豆精品 S檚 more collaborative than competitive. I specialize in decor, so I 麻豆精品 S檓 always working with people from other companies who specialize in areas like software or sound and lighting. Now we 麻豆精品 S檒l be in the same cohort, going through the program together. I 麻豆精品 S檓 excited to get started. 麻豆精品 S�
