Originally published on October 27, 2017.
Hailing from Spanish Fork, Utah, Whitney Mulaj comes from a long line of T-Birds with a deeply rooted appreciation for the education and experience provided by Southern Utah University.
SUU taught Whitney to work hard and play hard. She worked full-time throughout her education but still managed to participate in campus activities. The ability to allocate her time and energy to several different projects at once continues to benefit her to this day.
As a junior finance major, Whitney was in need of an elective credit so she enrolled in Emmett Steed’s Introduction to Hospitality Management class. Whitney loved the integrative nature of hospitality and decided to change her major to Hotel, Resort, and Hospitality Management.
“Hospitality is truly a mix of all business components,” said Whitney. “You have to be fiscally responsible like an accountant, advertise your brand like a marketer, handle employee relations like a human resources specialist, understand business trends like an economist, and last but not least, provide outstanding customer service like only a true hotelier can do.”
Following her hospitality course, Whitney completed a summer internship with Marriott International Hotels. The experience she had at that internship confirmed that hospitality was the industry for her.
Whitney also participated in two study-abroad programs through the school of business, one to France and the other to Austria. These programs helped Whitney create lifelong memories and friendships and helped her learn to seize every opportunity that presents itself.
Whitney now works as the assistant director of hotel operations at Wynn Resorts Hotel & Casino - a company with more Forbes five star service awards than any other hotel company in the world. Whitney oversees the front office and call center operations team and is directly responsible for ensuring the luxury and consistency of the service experience provided to guests.
“I currently oversee team members from 23 different nationalities,” said Whitney. “Being able to motivate and lead such a diverse group of people would not have been possible for me without the experience I received while at SUU.”
Learn more about the Hotel, Resort, and Hospitality Management program.