Hospitality student Enida Cohen (right) fields questions while promoting the HHTSN winter launch.
By: Hugh Smith
Students passing by Gourmet Express at Humber College may be pleasantly surprised. They will be offered free cupcakes.
The cupcakes are being handed out by a student group, the Humber Hospitality and Tourism Student Networking Committee (HHTSN), as a promotion for their winter launch.
James Hickman, a second-year hospitality student at Humber and committee member, said the group’s purpose is to create publicity.
“We’re based around getting information about hospitality out to people who are in hospitality, [and] people who don’t know much about it,” Hickman said. “It’s for networking, but at the same time, the social aspects, just meeting new friends and having a good time is kind of what we’re all about.”
The club includes people from a number of different programs: Food and Beverage, Hospitality, Tourism, Events, and the Hospitality and Tourism Operations Management (HTOM) post-grad program.
Colin Bartley, a hospitality professor at Humber, founded the group. He said the social aspect is the most important part of the group.
“We set this program up for a couple of reasons,” Bartley said. “One is student engagement… and also for opportunities for students from different programs to meet.”
HHTSN is currently promoting their upcoming two events: an information session for new students on Wednesday, Jan. 29 12:45 – 1:30 p.m., and a social mixer at LINX on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 4 – 6 p.m.
As well as giving out free cupcakes, the students staffing the table are answering questions about the committee, gathering email addresses of anyone who is interested in receiving updates about the group, and being entered in a draw for prizes. The grand prizes are Stella Artois beer glasses, but other prizes include gift cards to Tim Horton’s.
“[This is] stuff that students can use, beer and food,” Bartley said, chuckling.
The HHTSN promotion will take place today and Tuesday in front of Gourmet Express.