Isabel Runnels, a 21-year-old hospitality graduate from Orlando, has found new opportunities far from her hometown. After studying event management at Valencia College, Runnels decided to pursue seasonal work outside Florida. She now works in Skagway, Alaska, for a hotel owned by Holland America Cruise Line.
Runnels explained her decision to leave Orlando: “It’s funny; you’d think I could just go anywhere in Orlando and get a hotel job. But I thought, ‘Why not change the scenery?’ And it’s been great so far.”
Before moving to Alaska, Runnels worked at a Maitland printing company but realized she wanted more interaction with people. “I was stuck in a cubicle and, being in hospitality management, I needed to talk to people, but not about how much their print jobs would cost. So, just randomly one day, I looked up seasonal jobs. I had a few friends who worked in seasonal work – a friend who worked in Hawaii and a cousin who worked at a dude ranch in Montana,” she says. “I decided I’m going to do it.”
After applying for several positions, she chose the role with Holland America Cruise Line because of its team culture. She started working there on May 2 and plans to return next summer.
“I just felt really stuck, growing up in Orlando and working there. All my friends had moved away, either for school or after school,” she said. “I felt a little stuck in my hometown; I hadn’t traveled very much. And even though I had studied event planning and event management, I’m still very undecided about what I want to do in the hospitality field. So, I thought, ‘Why not see what I like and not be stuck in the same place?’
“Looking back, it was good to grow and expand a little bit.”
As her summer job ends, Runnels’ colleagues are heading to other locations such as Colorado or Australia for seasonal work. She plans to return home to Orlando for some time with family.
Runnels also shared positive experiences from her time at Valencia College. On her first day of classes at the Lake Nona Campus, she was guided by college president Kathleen Plinske without realizing her identity at first: “She walked me all the way upstairs and to the other side of the building, even held the classroom door for me and said hello to my professor. I had no idea who she was,” she says. “But it was a very positive experience for my first day considering I was so nervous!”
She noted that faculty supported her during difficult times when her mother faced pancreatic cancer treatments in 2023: “Everyone was willing to help,” she says. “My mom was going to chemo a lot, and there were so many surgeries and everything in between, and (I turned in) a lot of late assignments, with everything going on. But everyone was so flexible. I never had an issue with any of my professors. Everyone understood.
“My convention services professor, Lisa Vining, let me miss a few classes and come in during her office hours to make up the work. It was really nice to be able to work with such great people.”
Runnels described Valencia’s environment as supportive: “There was always someone helping me. Everyone was very personable,” she says. “And I felt like you got one-on-one relationships with the professors.”
