Her Story
About Sara
My journey to hospitality has been unique and challenging. I was born and raised in Colombia, where my mother, a single mother and lawyer, inspired my first career path. I studied law in Colombia, graduated, and worked with the Colombian government for 2 years before moving to a private law firm. But I wanted something different, something that would give me more options when I moved abroad. So I pursued a Master's in International Business in Boston, arriving in 2022. I did my internship at a hotel here, and when they opened a position as manager in food and beverage, I applied and got it. The hotel even helped me file for an H1B visa so I could stay and continue working with them. Now I manage a team of around 47 people from very different countries and backgrounds. Every single day is different in hospitality. My main role is to support my team, do schedules, manage inventories, and make sure everything is restocked and working well. But it's also about being human and open to listen to my team when they come to me with professional or personal situations. We receive guests from different parts of the world every day, and they're expecting certain things, so I have to be professional and try to achieve their expectations. There are two sides to manage: what's happening in front of the house with our guests, and what's happening in the back of the house with my team and managers. It's been challenging, but I really enjoy it and learn from everyone.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sara
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Be kind. Be kind with everyone around you. The general manager of my hotel talked to me at the beginning of this year about my career expectations and how he could support my career path. As we were talking, he told me, 'For me, it's just, what can I do for you, and be kind with other people?' And I think for me, it's been working well. When people come into your job, you don't know their situations, what has been happening during their day or during their life. So I'm always trying to be like, what can I do for you today? And be kind with everyone. This is especially important in hospitality where you see a lot of people every single day. When you're the leader of the team, if you come to work in a bad mood or not being kind, the people receive that and the work environment just becomes different. We have to deal with a lot of people outside, so if I'm coming with kindness and I listen to my team, they're gonna be in a good mood to talk to our guests. It reflects.
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