New HTM students inducted in the Eta Sigma Delta Honorary society

May 2, 2022

Eta Sigma Delta (ESD), an honorary society for students of the Hospitality and Tourism Management program at RIT Croatia's Dubrovnik campus, held its induction ceremony to welcome 10 new members on Thursday, April 29 at the Hotel Hilton Imperial.

This annual event is held in celebration of some of the most remarkable students who distinguish themselves through excellence in both academics and leadership. RIT Croatia's president and dean, Mr. Don Hudspeth, addressed the attendees, along with faculty members: Ms. Milena Kužnin, who is mentoring the ESD chapter at RIT Croatia, and Mr. Kevin Walker, who made some opening remarks at the ceremony.

This year's special guest speaker and an honorary industry member of ESD was Ms. Ana First, an alumna of both RIT Croatia and the University of Bozen - Bolzano. Ana is the General Manager of Falkensteiner Hotels & Residences, and also has a history in sales, revenue, and operations. She spoke to the new inductees about the Sixth Pillar - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and about the importance of these assets in today's professional world.

The ESD inductees were: Nikolina Herceg, Nikolina Jerkić, Jelena Muštra, Samira Pereziqi, Jana Radonjić, Leona Sentić, Josip Vukašin, Iva Vuković, Katija Vuličević and Sabina Ellen Wallace.

"This was a wonderful event. I am so thrilled to be here with you today and share your success, to be among the brightest and most distinguished students at RIT Croatia - it's really an achievement. This prepares you even better for the professional world. When I was listening about the importance of six pillars, I was very emotional because these pillars are what managers want to see in their staff. They want to see people who have high integrity and who are creative. They want to see diverse communities, to have people feel included, their voices being heard and that their opinion matters within their companies. Of course, they also want to see that their company provides equal opportunities to all of their employees. For me, this was very important and enlightening to see that on an academic level, students think so much about the daily topics that I like to cover at my company - Falkensteiner Hotels and Residences. Thank you for inviting me, I am super pumped up because I am an honorary member now!", said Ms. Ana First, the distinguished guest speaker of the event.