Spartan Daily

SJSU students help run the show at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am tournament

The SJSU hospitality, recreation and tourism management department recently partnered with Pebble Beach Golf Course to host the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Tournament, allowing students to combine golf, hard work and the experience of a lifetime.

This is the seventh year SJSU has partnered with Pebble Beach to give students the opportunity to work alongside Pebble Beach managers in the tournament.

“The students go to work as Pebble Beach managers and are under the managers on-site," said Richard Larson, project coordinator. “They are plugged right into the hierarchy management of the structure.”

About 80 students were panel interviewed and 32 students were selected to be part of the 2012 Special Event Management Team from SJSU.

Every student gets interviewed by Pebble Beach managers and SJSU faculty, Larson said.

The 32 students chosen were then divided into three teams: Skybox Hospitalities, Corporate Chalets or On-Course Food and Beverage.

The Skybox Hospitalities included responsibilities such as hosting VIP guests in corporate hospitality luxury suites called Skyboxes and managing multiple corporate clients.

Hospitality, recreation and event management major Megan Cabalar was the Skybox manager for the Hertz and Chase Sapphire Skyboxes.

“For each Skybox, we were responsible for the management and oversight of corporate clients,” Cabalar said. “We had to communicate with our clients and make sure the day went smoothly and everyone was happy.”

The Corporate Chalets included hosting VIP guests in corporate hospitality luxury tents called chalets and interacting with clients, servers, bartenders and culinary individuals, according to the SJSU hospitality, recreation and tourism management department website.

Junior Sophia Nguyen was a special event manager of chalet hospitality for the Hertz Company tent.

“I was responsible for overseeing all aspects of chalet," Nguyen said. “This included maintaining flow and order of the chalet, overseeing buffets and bar, catering to all the needs of the client and managing employees to work as a team to provide excellent customer service.”

The on-course food and beverage included inventory management and providing food and drinks to the daily spectators.

“We were officially considered employees for the Pebble Beach company," said Khalid Hanafy, a junior majoring in hospitality management and event planning. “I was managing 20-50 employees depending on how busy the day was to ensure everything ran as smoothly as possible.”

There was a student director for each of the three teams and one student coordinator for all three teams said Lac Nguyen, hospitality management major.

“I always heard about this special internship program when I started SJSU, but I did not know how elite the Pebble Beach Company was until I started researching the program myself," said Nguyen. “After I learned about the company and what their objectives were, I knew I wanted to be part of this unique experience.”

Nguyen was selected to be one of the on-course food and beverage operations managers.

“My job was to manage the largest cash concession on Pebble Beach with 11 cash registers while providing direction and motivation to all my staff and my fellow managers," Nguyen said. “I coordinated staff breaks along with my tent supervisors, took inventory of all products and supplies on a daily basis, monitored employees, ensured compliance with all health and safety policies and procedures with health inspectors, fire marshals, and with Pebble Beach Company’s policies and procedures.”

Pebble Beach provided housing for the students in downtown Monterey, rental cars for transportation and meals everyday of the tournament, Larson said.

“A great part of this is the commitment of the Pebble Beach management,” Larson said. “We partner with them and help select the students we bring. They do the training and management of the students and our job is to deliver the results.”

Students typically worked 12-hour days during the tournament Larson said.

“Some days we would wake up, meet at 5:30 a.m., drive to Pebble Beach and get to the breakfast spot by 6:00 a.m.,” Nguyen said. “We would then drive to our assigned location on the course for the week and open our operation by 8:00 a.m.”

Working for Pebble Beach can better prepare students for after graduation, allowing them to get a hands-on experience in an industry related to their major, Cabalar said.

“Pebble Beach has a high level of customer service and our students are expected to hold that standard when they are working in the tournament,” Larson said. “They take those skills and knowledge and apply that to whatever they do in other events.”

SJSU has become Pebble Beach’s best employee pool for this tournament, Larson added.

“17 of our previous students have been hired for full time employment in Pebble Beach,” Larson said. “The consistent thing we hear is that students tell future employees about their experience with Pebble Beach and that often lands them the job.”

Students that work for the Pebble Beach Company during the tournament often land jobs within the company after graduation.

“I like that I can possibly work for Pebble Beach after I graduate because I enjoyed working with them this year,” Hanafy said. “Pebble Beach was an experience that allowed me to grow and I believe if I continue with them, my career will be successful in the future.”

Twenty of the students that had participated in the Pebble Beach tournament in the past were recruited back just as temporary employees for the week, Larson said.

A total of 156 professional and 156 amateur golfers were present at the tournament, along with celebrities such as Lucas Black, Tony Romo and Bill Murray.

With Tiger Woods playing in the tournament, there was a 35 percent increase of spectators than last year Nguyen said.

“Meeting and working with people like George Lopez, Andy Garcia, Matt Cain and Anthony Anderson was something not too many SJSU students get to do in their career,” Hanafy said. “It was truly an honor to work for a company like Pebble Beach and going out there and representing SJSU.”

Students worked closely with team members in order to help clients, giving them the full experience of the role as a manager at the event Cabalar said.

“The most notable parts of the tournaments were the positive reinforcements from supervisors, staff, guest, and clients, the beautiful and breathtaking views, the memories that will last forever, and the strong bonds made within the team, Nguyen said.

“The Pebble Beach experience was truly an opportunity of a lifetime.”