Bryan Lavin

Q&A with Bryan

At JWU, education is not confined to the four walls of the classroom. You’re not going to spend four years with your nose buried in a book, learning theories you may never get a chance to apply — you’re going to get out there and apply them, be it through internships, group projects, leadership opportunities, competitions and more.

How Did You Get Started?

I started in the industry as an intern for a Destination Marketing Office in Worcester, MA which quickly turned into a full time position as a Convention and Event Sales Coordinator. During my first year I had the opportunity to facilitate the NCAA Men's Div. I Basketball Tournament's first and second rounds as the city was playing host. While finishing school I was working closely with a team on all of the logistics and marketing that goes into a televised sporting event. As I sat court side during the event and watched the University of Vermont knock out a highly ranked Syracuse team, I knew this was the industry for me.

Working in the DMO environment provided a unique perspective as you gain the knowledge and understanding of the depth of impact that an event happening in a city has on the community, the hospitality industry, and the destination overall. As my career progressed, my roles grew within the DMO's I worked for representing Providence, RI and Chicago, IL as premier meeting, conference, and event destinations. My main focus for these agencies was to build relationships with clients to help them maximize the impact of their event while simultaneously fueling the destination's economy. It was a blend of sales process, marketing consulting, and strategic management and leadership as conferences and event went from ideas to taking place live in the convention center or other facilities.

DMO's can be an incredibly rewarding career path as your work has a significant impact on the wellbeing of the destination in terms of sustainability and helping to fuel an entire industry. Tourism is happening all around us in any destination we go to, being able to help shape that vision, tell the story of the destination, and then see the incredible impact that resulted from your work is an experience like no other. I love that I can share that perspective with our students and help future leaders in the industry think beyond the confines of the business that they work for or operate and see the true impact tourism has on our every day lives.

What Advice Do You Have For Incoming Freshmen?

For incoming freshman, I would advise you to become a sponge! The Hospitality industry is an unbelievably dynamic place. We have all experienced it in some form at a very high level, but the more you learn and understand how connected all the different paths are, the more successful you are apt to become! Join a club outside of your major, use an elective to explore a topic of interest, go and study aboard, seek out advice from a faculty member outside your major...the connections that JWU offers are limitless all you have to do is take advantage of opportunities and find your path!

What College Do You Teach In?

The College of Hospitality Management