School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management senior Griffin Whalen took the scenic route to his chosen profession.
In fact, his journey started in Morocco.
“I was fortunate enough to go on a study abroad trip to Morocco for two weeks with Temple’s Tourism and Hospitality major. Having that as my first impression with Temple was remarkable and I felt very fortunate for the experience,” said Whalen, who is graduating with a degree in Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management. “What drew me to the hospitality field was that I really enjoy hotels and traveling so it gave me a great opportunity to learn more about the industry. I was originally going down a culinary track and I realized it wasn’t my calling. I realized working as a server at a restaurant that I could create positive experiences for people — that creating those moments really meant something to me.”
Degree nearly in hand Whalen’s goal, is to “gain more experience in the hotel industry and from there I have many different options for what I might want to pursue.”
“Maybe it’s talent acquisition; maybe it’s human resources or maybe I want to go back to school and get my master’s degree. After graduation, I’ve accepted a position as a corporate management trainee for Hyatt Hotels in Park City, Utah,” he said. “I will spend six months at hotel and go through every single department to get a holistic operations perspective. Then you go into a specialization from there for the remainder of the time — if you do an excellent job they'll keep you on the team but if they don't have any availability, you're able to go out to different hotels as an assistant manager.”
While Whalen has predominantly taken classes at Main Campus, he said he was drawn to the Ambler Campus because of “the relatability, the open space and a really strong community.”
“All of the events and programming that (Ambler Campus) Student Life creates for students are great. I also enjoy the services they provide as well, such as the inter-campus bus — I’ve made my closest Temple friends using that service,” said Whalen, who is the Secretary of the Ambler Student Life Board. “If a student asked me why they should come to Temple Ambler, I would say being able to get the most out of your Temple University experience is incredible and crucially important to be able to appreciate all that the University provides. Temple Ambler provides experiences that the Main Campus simply can’t due to the geographic location, the resources that we have here and all of the other wonders that the campus can provide.”
Being part of both the Temple Ambler and Main Campus communities “has truly been the best of both worlds,” said Whalen.
“You get the amazing facilities and majors at Main Campus combined with the unique resources, atmosphere and opportunities of the Ambler Campus. Just from a wellness perspective, Temple Ambler is an incredible resource,” he said. “With the stress that comes with academia, projects and deadlines, being able to enjoy the campus’ multitude of services is something I’m grateful for. I think all of these experiences together make for a very holistic approach to the academic experience.”
As Whalen prepares to start the next part of his journey, Temple, he said, “has done an incredible job of preparing me for my career.”
“The faculty are incredible — they've really made my undergraduate experience so memorable.
One faculty member that really sticks out to me is Peihao Wang, who supported me with my undergraduate research,” he said. “We were able to present that research at a conference in Tampa, Florida last February, which was an incredible experience! I’m also grateful to Dr. Lee, Dr. Wu, and Dr. Blackburn for their support throughout the process — they each played a meaningful role in helping me grow and get to that point.”
Whalen’s research proposal — “Spaces that Spark: The Impact of Hotel Servicescape Design on Employee Creativity” — explores “how the servicescape impacts the social environment.”
“Servicescape is a concept of the physical environment. I wanted to explore what impact that has on employees. For example, how does the lighting in a break room at work make them feel — is it bleak and miserable or warm and inviting,” he said, “I wanted to determine if the servicescape itself, the physical environment, is able to actually curate employee creativity. I also wanted to see how inspiration works as a mediator for the development of creativity, where we really have to consider how intentional the space is built up to be. This is something that I've been very interested in since starting my undergraduate experience, so being able to engage in this research has meant so much to me.”
Whalen said he has two pieces of advice for students beginning the part of the journey he is about to complete.
“There are two pieces of advice that's always really stuck with me from former mentors of mine. The first is to make sure that you're doing something that you love because if you don't, you'll go crazy,” he said. “The second one would be to live your dream. Because beyond all the labels —your specialization, your major, your degree — it’s the dream that keeps you going. And that’s what really deserves your commitment.”