When the Boot Hill Casino opens in December, Dodge City Community College's first hospitality management students will already have a semester of classes under their belts.
These particular Conquistadors will know more about the ins and outs of the industry than the rest of us will ever know — and they'll be taught by a hometown girl who is happy to be back in Dodge.
Kari Casterline, a Dodge City High School alumna, didn't expect to return to the classroom just a few months after graduating from Kansas State University with a bachelor of science degree in hotel and restaurant management. She'll be on the other side of the desk now, helping to prepare the next wave of trained workers needed by the area's already bustling tourism industry.
Casterline will begin teaching DCCC's first class of hospitality professionals on Aug. 19. By the end of their first semester in December, her full-time students will have studied an overview of the industry, learned the basics of both front office and food/beverage operations, and mastered food safety procedures.
"At that point, they'll be in a position to decide whether they want to pursue an associate's degree or a certificate," said Casterline by phone from her new office on the DCCC campus Monday. "Those who want to go with the certificate will be halfway there, while students in the A.S. program will have three more semesters."
Casterline said that for her, the most interesting aspect of contemporary hospitality management is its broad spectrum.
"Really, graduates can go just about anywhere," she said. "They can work at resorts, on cruise ships, as event or wedding planners, in restaurants, hotels, casinos — the range is so broad."
Casterline's own internships placed her in the Keystone Resort, learning front office operations, in the KSU skyboxes and with Lemmy's Pizzeria as a kitchen supervisor.
"Graduating from our program isn't an absolute guarantee that the casino will hire you in a management position or track, but a DCCC certificate or degree will certainly be a valuable asset," said Casterline. "We have also developed partnerships with the Dodge City Convention and Visitors Bureau and with Dodge House, and we are in the process of developing more industry partnerships."
And to sweeten the deal, the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute has given the college's program its stamp of approval.
With over 60 percent of its building completed, the casino is already beginning to hire the enormous staff Boot Hill Casino and Resort will need when the gambling complex opens — and managers will hire a couple hundred more employees when Boot Hill adds the hotel next year.
"Our graduates will have the skills to meet the casino's needs, sure. But they'll also be able to choose from a broad range of careers, whether locally or not," said Casterline. "The one thing all hospitality careers have in common is people — whether serving their needs yourself, or managing the people who do that, or both."
Reach Claire O'Brien at (620) 408-9931 or e-mail her at claire.obrien@dodgegloge.com.
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When the Boot Hill Casino opens in December, Dodge City Community College's first hospitality management students will already have a semester of classes under their belts.
These particular Conquistadors will know more about the ins and outs of the industry than the rest of us will ever know — and they'll be taught by a hometown girl who is happy to be back in Dodge.
Kari Casterline, a Dodge City High School alumna, didn't expect to return to the classroom just a few months after graduating from Kansas State University with a bachelor of science degree in hotel and restaurant management. She'll be on the other side of the desk now, helping to prepare the next wave of trained workers needed by the area's already bustling tourism industry.
Casterline will begin teaching DCCC's first class of hospitality professionals on Aug. 19. By the end of their first semester in December, her full-time students will have studied an overview of the industry, learned the basics of both front office and food/beverage operations, and mastered food safety procedures.
"At that point, they'll be in a position to decide whether they want to pursue an associate's degree or a certificate," said Casterline by phone from her new office on the DCCC campus Monday. "Those who want to go with the certificate will be halfway there, while students in the A.S. program will have three more semesters."
Casterline said that for her, the most interesting aspect of contemporary hospitality management is its broad spectrum.
"Really, graduates can go just about anywhere," she said. "They can work at resorts, on cruise ships, as event or wedding planners, in restaurants, hotels, casinos — the range is so broad."
Casterline's own internships placed her in the Keystone Resort, learning front office operations, in the KSU skyboxes and with Lemmy's Pizzeria as a kitchen supervisor.
"Graduating from our program isn't an absolute guarantee that the casino will hire you in a management position or track, but a DCCC certificate or degree will certainly be a valuable asset," said Casterline. "We have also developed partnerships with the Dodge City Convention and Visitors Bureau and with Dodge House, and we are in the process of developing more industry partnerships."
And to sweeten the deal, the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute has given the college's program its stamp of approval.
With over 60 percent of its building completed, the casino is already beginning to hire the enormous staff Boot Hill Casino and Resort will need when the gambling complex opens — and managers will hire a couple hundred more employees when Boot Hill adds the hotel next year.
"Our graduates will have the skills to meet the casino's needs, sure. But they'll also be able to choose from a broad range of careers, whether locally or not," said Casterline. "The one thing all hospitality careers have in common is people — whether serving their needs yourself, or managing the people who do that, or both."
Reach Claire O'Brien at (620) 408-9931 or e-mail her at claire.obrien@dodgegloge.com.
