Meet the Travelers

Professor Donna Albano
Donna Albano is an Associate Professor in the Hospitality & Tourism Management Studies (HTMS) Program at the Stockton University
Most recently Donna served as the Director of the HTMS program from 2000-2014. Responsibilities included recruiting, supporting and evaluating faculty, including adjunct faculty, curriculum design and delivery and playing a service role both inside and external to the College. Donna teaches Introduction to the Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Marketing, Leadership and the Cooperative Education component of the curriculum which provides a structured educational strategy integrating classroom studies with learning through productive work experiences in the hospitality & tourism industry.
Donna is a member of several education and hospitality industry associations including the International Council of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Educators (ICHRIE) where she has held several leadership roles. She is also an active member of the Greater Atlantic City Hotel & Lodging Association, Somers Point Business Association Executive Committee, Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce, Greater Atlantic City Concierge Association, Philadelphia Hotel Association, SKAL- International Association of Travel and Tourism Professionals, and the Atlantic City Host Awards Selection Committee. Donna most recently received a Certification in Hotel Industry Analytics (CHIA) from the Smith Travel Research organization. Donna was also recently inducted into the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs an International Association of Gastronomy.

Prior to academia, Donna worked in the hospitality industry in hotel casino operations, food and beverage franchise operations, country club operations as well as hospitality industry consulting including quality assurance shopping and restaurant reviews.

Donna has earned an Ed.D. from Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ and was the Recipient of the Larry Marcus Award for Excellence in Educational Leadership, Doctoral Studies in 2007.

Heather Christine

Heather, a senior graduating in December with the class of 2015, experienced a trip of a lifetime with Stockton University. As a Hospitality and Tourism Management major she plans to further her career within the food and beverage industry. Heather traveled abroad with Donna Albano and twelve others to Rome and Florence, Italy, in May 2015. Prior to this extraordinary adventure she's traveled to Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France, as well as other parts of Italy. That being said, exploring new cities of the beloved Italia with some of her closet friends made for a most memorable and cherished adventure.

She recalls two of her most treasured moments – First, in Rome, was viewing the renowned Sistine Chapel, standing beneath what is recognized as one of Michelangelo's most famous masterpieces. As a remarkable piece of history, absorbing this mastery was nothing short of breathtaking. Her second most cherished memory was when she found herself sitting on top of Piazza Michelangelo in Florence. While watching the sun set over a beautifully ancient city, it was humbling to see how countless cultures, languages, and people were all united by one popular scenic spot, and some Italian wine.

Beth
Beth is Hospitality and Tourism Management major and is also now Stockton Alumni. This was her second time traveling abroad, her first being to Wales and England. Beth’s favorite part of the trip was completely immersing herself in the Italian culture and lifestyle, gaining a new appreciation for food, wine, and history.

Jennie
Jennie is a double major in Hospitality and Accounting with a minor in International Studies. In grade school she traveled to Thailand to visit family, but Italy was a whole other experience. Both trips taught her how cultures can be vastly different and unique. Aside from learning and experiencing the Italian lifestyle with such a great group of girls, she also enjoyed eating gelato everyday!

Magen
Magen received her Bachelor's degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management and is now halfway through the MBA program at Stockton. Her love for travel and adventure made it easy for her to decide to go on an adventure of a lifetime to Italy. Having been to Rome and Florence before with her family, Magen saw a completely different side of Italy when she went with her classmates this spring. With the trip mainly focusing on food and wine, Magen learned an immense amount of new information about Italian cuisine. She loved immersing herself into the Italian culture and making new friends along the way. She also learned the importance of planning a large-scale trip ahead of time from Professor Donna Albano, which paid off in the end because the trip was perfect! 


Victoria
Victoria is a senior studying Hospitality and Tourism Management with a minor in International studies. She is an avid traveler who has had the opportunity to travel all over the USA visiting family and friends. This trip was the first time she had the chance to go to Europe. Begin able to visiting Italy with this amazing group of people was a once in life time experience that was well worth the work. This trip was centered around the food and wine experiences Italy has to offer. 
She will always remember the night they were looking for a local restaurant in Rome and when they turned around to see the Coliseum at the end of the block. It was like something out of a dream that just took your breath away with its pure beauty. This trip was an overall amazing experience that  was executed beautifuly by Professor Albano and SAI.  

Melinda
Melinda received her bachelor's degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management in Spring 2014. With two semesters left in her Masters in Business Administration degree, Melinda was excited to study and learn about Italy and its culture. She has been fortunate enough to travel across the US as well as internationally to England and Mexico. Going to Italy, especially with this group of women, was an incredible opportunity that she would not trade for anything. Melinda's favorite parts of the trip were cooking at Apicius in Florence, visiting the Lungarno Collection hotels, and spending time with the rest of her travelers who left the US as acquaintances and returned friends.

Kelly
Kelly is a Hospitality and Tourism Management major, graduating in Spring 2016. Her first trip out of the country, as a freshman in high school, was to Quebec, Canada with the school's french class. She had never been overseas before and was excited for the opportunity to go on this trip to Italy; especially since she would be going with many of the people from the Hospitality Program whom she feels fortunate to know. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and it has sparked a new enthusiasm for her to travel the world.

Taylor M.
Taylor is a Marketing and MBA student. She has been out of the country three times before all on trips with her High School! When she was a Sophomore she went to Greece and Italy, as a Junior she went to France, and then as a Senior she went back to Greece! She had an amazing experience on this trip and she was really excited to visit Florence because she had not been there before! After going on this amazing once in a lifetime trip to Italy with the Hospitality and Tourism program, she learned a lot more about what this area of study entails. Taylor enjoyed touring all the hotels including The Hassler in Rome, and learning about what goes into running a successful business. She also very much enjoyed tasting and learning about food and wine and that whole aspect of Hospitality. Overall, Taylor gained a better understanding and appreciation for Hospitality and Tourism Management!

Morgan
Morgan is a junior Literature major. Although books have allowed her travel to countless places, her first time abroad in real life was the previous summer. Morgan, along with forty other Stockton students, took part in the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Faculty Led Program to Poland, Lithuania, and Germany. In these three countries, she was able to visit and learn about many sites of the Holocaust and she also found a new appreciation for viewing the world as her classroom.

While the Hospitality and Tourism Management study tour is completely different than her last, Morgan found it just as meaningful. Her favorite part of the experience was getting out of her field of expertise and learning about something completely new. Traveling with such an excellent group of girls, and with a wonderful professor, made this study tour all the more worthwhile. Her favorite memory of this tour was walking to the top of the Duomo in Florence. Walking inside the cramped walls of the church, squeezing through the tiny doorways, and finally climbing through the hole at the top was an incredible opportunity. The views were spectacular; seeing the historic buildings, the crumb-sized people, the city as a whole, and the mountains in the distance made her realize just how much of the world there is to explore and learn from. Italy was absolutely amazing and Morgan cannot wait for her next adventure. 

Tamara
Tamara is a Hospitality and Tourism Management major graduating Stockton in May 2016. This was her third time traveling abroad, her first being to Israel and Australia. Tamara's favorite part of the trip was having the opportunity to cook in the Apicius culinary school in Florence. This trip not only helped Tamara gain a new appreciation for food and wine but also made her realize that after graduation she wants to go to culinary school and expand her culinary talents.

Noelle
Noelle is twenty-one and a senior at Stockton set to graduate this December. She started college without a clue what she wanted to major in, but quickly realized that Hospitality Management is for her. Having a career where her main focus is to enrich the experience of others is very exciting because she love to make people happy. Our study tour in Italy was an amazing experience and she’ll always remember and take it with her as her career in hospitality continues.

Kristina
Kristina is senior Hospitality and Tourism Management major at Stockton University. Every year her family goes on vacation, so she has seen a lot of places and has traveled outside of the country. However, she has never been to Europe before, which she’s been dying to see. Kristina’s favorite part of the trip was going to Italy with some of her closest friends, the food, wine, tours, and the hands on learning experience. This trip had a huge impact on her life, and she will never forget the memories she made and the people she traveled with to Italy.

Taylor V.
Taylor V. is beginning her senior year at Stockton University this fall, and although it doesn't seem possible, she enjoys food and wine even more now after traveling to the study tour to Italy. Everyday in Italy was a new adventure, and it solidified her decision that the tourism industry is a perfect fit for her. A few of her favorite memories of the trip include learning fun facts about Michelangelo, watching the sunset in Florence, and picking out her future destination wedding location just outside of Rome (now she just needs to find a boyfriend).