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Harris Rosen spent the first half of his career making millions and the second half giving away millions. From Hell 麻豆精品 S檚 Kitchen in New York to a Quality Inn in Orlando, here is his story.

Harris Rosen was fired.

His bosses at Walt Disney World told him that they didn 麻豆精品 S檛 believe he would ever become 麻豆精品 S渁 company man. 麻豆精品 S� So, they fired him.

Harris didn 麻豆精品 S檛 disagree. Despite his successes developing the Contemporary, Polynesian and Fort Wilderness resorts, he realized that he couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 be what Disney wanted him to be.

麻豆精品 S淚 finally came to the conclusion that I most likely didn 麻豆精品 S檛 have the organization man 麻豆精品 S檚 personality, 麻豆精品 S� says Rosen. 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檝e known since an early age that I 麻豆精品 S檝e been inflicted with what I call that awful defective entrepreneurial gene. Deep down inside I knew that one day I was destined to be in business for myself. 麻豆精品 S�

For Rosen, playing it safe is a risky proposition.

So after leaving Disney, he withdrew his last $20,000 from savings and put a down payment on a 256-room Quality Inn on Orlando 麻豆精品 S檚 International Drive. And that 麻豆精品 S檚 where it all began.

Today, located off a nondescript corridor in that same Quality Inn, he continues to defy expectations. Rosen 麻豆精品 S檚 office feels more like a cozy living room than the opulent offices presumed for the innovator who built the largest independently owned hotel group in Florida. Instead of fine art and interior decorator touches, the room bursts with artifacts from real life. A large photo of his Russian grandfather Harry Rosenovsky. Rosen 麻豆精品 S檚 wallet-sized U.S. Army ID card. An autographed sketch of baseball great Jackie Robinson 麻豆精品 S攄rawn by Rosen when he was 10 years old. His judo uniform, recently recovered from his mother 麻豆精品 S檚 condo. Amidst it all, his two dogs, Apple and Bambi, wander freely.

麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檝e been in this room for 37 years, 麻豆精品 S� Rosen says. 麻豆精品 S淭his is not exactly what people who aspire to be successful dream of having 麻豆精品 S� beautiful offices and private planes and condos all over the place. But for me, it 麻豆精品 S檚 very comfortable. 麻豆精品 S�

Harris Rosen with his dogs, Bambi and Apple

BIG DOGS
Rosen 麻豆精品 S檚 office is as unassuming as he is. His dogs, Bambi and Apple, are frequent officemates.

Marilyn Monroe and Mom 麻豆精品 S檚 Advice

Harris Rosen 麻豆精品 S檚 first job in hospitality was helping his dad finish and distribute hand-lettered place cards for banquets at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. He was paid a penny a card 麻豆精品 S攁 fortune by a 10-year-old 麻豆精品 S檚 standards. Even more valuable was the chance encounter that set him on the path he would follow the rest of his life.

麻豆精品 S淥ne day, we walk into the elevator and the most magnificent lady, a blonde lady with a beautiful figure, was there with a very tall, distinguished gentleman, 麻豆精品 S� he recalls. 麻豆精品 S淚 whispered to my dad, 麻豆精品 S榃ho is that? 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� He turned and said, 麻豆精品 S楢mbassador Kennedy, Marilyn, this is my son, Harris. 麻豆精品 S� It was Marilyn Monroe. That sealed it for me. I thought if I could meet all of these incredible people in an elevator, this really was a business that I might enjoy. 麻豆精品 S�

While his father revealed a whole new world to Rosen, his mother showed him the path there.

Manhattan 麻豆精品 S檚 Lower East Side in the 麻豆精品 S�40s and 麻豆精品 S�50s was a crowded ghetto teeming with immigrants and afflicted with disease. Rosen recalls stepping over people in the street on his way to school and passing homeless crowds huddled beneath the elevated train line overpass. Still, he looks back on the neighborhood with fondness, admitting that he didn 麻豆精品 S檛 see anything wrong with it until the day a sightseeing bus came through and he heard a passenger remark, 麻豆精品 S淪o this is how they live. 麻豆精品 S�

麻豆精品 S淢y brother and I didn 麻豆精品 S檛 know what she meant, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淢om had to explain to us that not everyone lives this way. And if we didn 麻豆精品 S檛 want to live here for the rest of our lives, we had to work hard in school and get a good education. 麻豆精品 S�

After a thoughtful pause he says simply, 麻豆精品 S淕ood advice. 麻豆精品 S�

Though he took that advice, earning a bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 degree in hotel administration from Cornell University, Rosen admits that he felt like an outsider looking in. 麻豆精品 S淢e at an Ivy League school 麻豆精品 S擨 was an aberration! 麻豆精品 S� he says.

麻豆精品 S淢y brother and I didn 麻豆精品 S檛 know what she meant, Mom had to explain to us that not everyone lives this way. And if we didn 麻豆精品 S檛 want to live here for the rest of our lives, we had to work hard in school and get a good education. 麻豆精品 S�

Building a College and a Legacy

Like his encounter with Marilyn Monroe and his days at Cornell, Rosen has a way of casting even the largest efforts in a decidedly low-key light.

麻豆精品 S淚 was having lunch with UCF Professor Abe Pizam, and I told him, 麻豆精品 S極ne day Abe, I will build you a new school. 麻豆精品 S� At the time, the hospitality program was part of the business school. There were about 75 students, 麻豆精品 S� says Rosen.

Five years later, Rosen made good on his promise, pledging $10 million in cash and 20 acres of property at his new resort, Rosen Shingle Creek. His contribution, however, came with certain conditions.

麻豆精品 S淚 told President Hitt that I would really prefer the new college be out here near the theme parks, convention center and International Drive … closer to where all of the action is. 麻豆精品 S�

Rosen and his team were invited to help design the building. So he invited the deans from the top hospitality colleges in the nation 麻豆精品 S擟ornell, Michigan State, UMass, UNLV 麻豆精品 S攖o be his weekend guests. Armed with their input, Rosen 麻豆精品 S檚 team of architects developed 麻豆精品 S渁 tremendous plan based on the best of the best of the best. 麻豆精品 S� And in 2004, the Rosen College of Hospitality Management opened on time and on budget.

麻豆精品 S淚 didn 麻豆精品 S檛 want to make a fuss out of the UCF donation, 麻豆精品 S� Rosen says. 麻豆精品 S淚 was ready to just send a check in the mail. But President Hitt implored me not to do it that way. He said, 麻豆精品 S楲et us make an announcement. Let us use your name. If people hear that you 麻豆精品 S檙e doing something, it might encourage others to do something. 麻豆精品 S� When he put it that way, I had to say okay. 麻豆精品 S�

Today, with founding Dean Abe Pizam at the helm and 3,500 students enrolled, the UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management is the largest hospitality program in the nation.

Students walking in front of the Rosen College of Hospitality Management

The Rosen College of Hospitality Management has grown to the largest college of its type in the United States.

An Impact Felt Across Generations

麻豆精品 S淓piphany might be too strong of a word … it was more of a voice. A feeling that 麻豆精品 S榥ow is the time. 麻豆精品 S� You 麻豆精品 S檝e achieved more success than you ever imagined. It 麻豆精品 S檚 time now to recognize that you 麻豆精品 S檝e been blessed … to be thankful and to share your good fortune with others. 麻豆精品 S�

Having had his own life so radically transformed by education, Rosen knew that this was an area he wanted to focus on, and Tangelo Park was the place.

Tangelo Park is built on land once used for orange groves. Originally built as housing for workers at the nearby Martin Marietta, it has become an isolated residential area. There are few services nearby for residents, and few public transit options. African Americans comprise 90 percent of the community, with many living below the poverty line.

麻豆精品 S淚 fell in love with the neighborhood, 麻豆精品 S� says Rosen. 麻豆精品 S淚 knew I wanted to do some type of scholarship program for them. 麻豆精品 S�

The Tangelo Park Program, started in 1993, gives every neighborhood child age 2 to 4 access to free preschool. Parents have access to parenting classes, vocational courses and technical training.

For a program that took just one hour and four people to develop, the impact has been wide and deep. Tangelo Park Elementary is now a grade-A school. Every high school senior graduates.

But there 麻豆精品 S檚 more. Much more.

Every high school graduate who is accepted to a Florida public university, community or state college, or vocational school receives a full Harris Rosen Foundation scholarship, which covers tuition, living and educational expenses through graduation.

Nearly 200 students have earned Rosen scholarships, and of those, 75 percent have graduated from college 麻豆精品 S攖he highest rate among an ethnic group in the nation.

麻豆精品 S淚 was part of the first generation of pre-K children in the Tangelo Park Program. Now I 麻豆精品 S檓 about to be the first generation of my family to go to college, 麻豆精品 S� says Antionette Butler, a senior at Dr. Phillips High School. Butler plans to use her Rosen scholarship to attend UCF and study neurology.

Donna Wilcox used her Rosen scholarship to earn a bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 degree in interpersonal/organizational communication at UCF, and then went on to complete her M.A. in mass communications at the University of Georgia.

麻豆精品 S淲hen people have the resources to go and succeed, there 麻豆精品 S檚 a ripple effect, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淚t becomes generational. No one in my family ever went to college before, but now, my baby sister can 麻豆精品 S檛 even picture a life without college. My mother even went back and got her degree. I showed her that she could do it. 麻豆精品 S�

After spending $9 million on his adopted neighborhood of 2,500 residents, Rosen was asked if the program has a stopping point.

麻豆精品 S淚 will be involved in the program until Tangelo Park is a gated community and the average home is selling for $1 million. Then I 麻豆精品 S檓 gone. 麻豆精品 S�✦

DREAM BIG

In 1993, Harris Rosen 麻豆精品 S渁dopted 麻豆精品 S� a run-down, drug-infested section of Orlando called Tangelo Park. Rosen offers free preschool for all children prior to kindergarten and a free college education for high school graduates. Today, the high school graduation rate for Tangelo Park is 100 percent. And no, that is not a typo.

Below: A Tangelo Park resident expresses her joy and appreciation for Rosen 麻豆精品 S檚 help in supporting her children and her community.

Harris Rosen receiving a hug from a community member

麻豆精品 S淚 fell in love with the neighborhood, 麻豆精品 S� says Rosen. 麻豆精品 S淚 knew I wanted to do some type of scholarship program for them. 麻豆精品 S�