Ever since Nicole Scott was a child growing up in Lansdale, Montgomery County, she 回忆起热爱户外的时光. 有一天她这么想, her affinity for the natural world would translate into a career of some sort. 当 she started college in 2018, she was on track with her vision, but things didn’t pan 就像她所希望的那样离开了她选择的专业.  

 

“I was a biology major my freshman year and didn’t really think that was my calling,” 斯科特上了一些课后说.  

 

She decided to leave college to take a gap year before enrolling at Montgomery County 2019年社区学院. 然而，她仍然没有决定她的职业目标 未来. 

 

“I was at Montco for a semester and didn’t know what I wanted to do,” 她说.  

 

Feeling somewhat aimless, Scott met with an advisor at MCCC who suggested she take Intro to 旅游 and 热情好客 Management taught by Shawn Murray, 热情好客 Management 助理教授.  

 

“After taking that one course with Professor Murray, I switched my major to the 旅游及酒店管理专业她说。.  

 

接着，她修读了可持续酒店与旅游管理课程， also with Professor Murray, which helped confirm her interest in a 热情好客 degree.  

 

“It combines environmental science and hospitality and those were the two tracks I “我想做的事，他们非常合拍，”她说.  

 

Upon taking the class, she had new enthusiasm for completing the courses required 获得旅游及酒店管理副学士学位. 斯科特的股票 the focus of the Global Sustainable 旅游 that makes her so passionate.  

 

“It has to do with a lot of beach destinations and places in Third World countries – areas that are not developed enough to meet the demands of tourism they are receiving, 所以这不是帮助，而是阻碍。”她说道. “始终需要可持续性 帮助他们解决问题，这样就不会有侵犯性.” 

 

After graduating from MCCC in 2021, Scott completed her 旅游 and 热情好客 Management’s 在黄石国家公园食品和饮料部门实习. 默里帮她 通过他与黄石公园的关系来实习.  

 

“Over the past three years, eight MCCC旅游 and 热情好客 Management students have taken advantage of this relationship and have had a great experience,” Murray 说.  

 

斯科特分享了她在那里工作的一些重要经历.  

 

“I was an office assistant, and I made a ton of really good friends, and it was one 我最喜欢的夏天，”她说.  

 

MCCC为她的下一个学位奠定了基础  

第二年秋天，她转到 Florida International University's Chaplin School of 旅游 and 热情好客 Management in pursuit of their brand-new bachelor’s degree being offered in Global Sustainable 旅游.  

 

“I will actually be the first person graduating with a Global Sustainable 旅游 degree from the school this spring,” 她说, adding that others currently enrolled 这个项目的学生要到秋天才能毕业.  

 

Murray discussed how college students, such as Nicole, who are looking to transfer to a top four-year institution in the tourism field, can benefit from the surroundings FIU必须提供.  

 

“Florida International University in Miami provides a great backdrop to study and explore such diverse ecosystems and biodiversity within sustainable travel and tourism, 她利用了这一点，”他说.  

 

Now a resident of North Miami, Scott recalls how MCCC was the perfect fit for her 高中毕业后. 

 

“I didn’t have my priorities straight, and they cared if I was sitting in my chair 以及我在课堂上的表现，”她说. “我觉得我需要这样 作为一个刚高中毕业的年轻人.” 

 

Today she is among the over 58,000 students enrolled at FIU where she is an honor 优秀学生，南海滩葡萄酒的获得者 & 美食节奖学金 has been featured in the University’s publication highlighting the cutting-edge area 可持续旅游业. 今年是她大四的最后一年，斯科特有两份兼职工作 工作.  

 

“The first is the Hillstone Restaurant Group where I work as a waitress and the other is at Oleta River State Park where I’m an eco and nature tour guide and event specialist,” 她说.  

斯科特在佛罗里达国际大学的室友布里安娜·纳波利，也是前中冶旅游公司的员工 & 热情好客 管理研究生.  

 

“We are really good friends, and we have been living together for like a year now,” 她说.  

This past summer, Scott participated in a study-abroad program in Italy through her academic programming at FIU where she focused on Italian culture and language.

  

“我父亲那边的家族来自意大利南部，”她说. “我想看看在哪里 my roots were from and do what I do here but experience different cultures.” 

 

During the month of July, she studied at Accademia Italiana Salerno and traveled to 许多不同的地区. 

 

“我们在数百家餐馆吃过饭，”她说. “这是一次非常酷的经历, 我觉得我从他们的角度感受到了热情好客.” 

 

国际留学项目  

 

This month, Scott will be participating in a second international study abroad program 叫做海上好客. 这是一个为期14天的可持续旅游课程，以现实生活为背景 游轮.  

 

“The course explores South America in areas such as Chile, Argentina and Uruguay,” 她说. “We’ll be doing activities such as horseback riding, hiking, and kayaking. We’ll also explore different regions to see how they manage tourism so that it positively 有利于经济和环境.” 

 

Murray 说 that all of Nicole’s accomplishments are making a positive impact on others 追求可持续旅游领域.  

 

“Nicole is such an amazing leader and is creating a blueprint for current 旅游 以及酒店管理专业的学生，”他说. “我很为她感到骄傲 is consistently mentoring current MCCC tourism students and personally helping me 继续加强与佛罗里达国际大学的合作.”   

 

目前, Scott is unsure of what the 未来 has in store for her after graduation, 但她愿意去不同的国家旅行和工作. 她正在寻找职位 在夏威夷和其他渴望可持续发展的海滩地区.  

 

“要毕业了，我很兴奋，”她说. “可持续旅游是一个新兴产业， 我觉得自己站在了最前沿. 我很期待会发生什么.”