Allison Chambers and Hannah Wylie graduate in May 2020. Instead of worrying about the job market and if they will find jobs in their field, they’re getting ready for their careers.

What started as a corporate internship experience led to full time jobs—and a (less) stressful senior year.

Finding an internship

Wylie and Chambers both found their dream internships through one of the career fairs.

Abbe Ehlers, senior instructor of hospitality leadership, wanted Wylie to talk to one more table — the Drury table. After talking to them, Wylie was offered an interview. The rest is history. She started her internship at a Drury Hotel in St. Louis.

Chambers also interviewed at the career fair and found a position in a Drury hotel. The next career fair, she was offered a Drury internship in Springfield.

Both internships were about 10 weeks. They shadowed everyone—assistant general managers, the general manager, even meeting Chuck Drury.

“They wanted me to get the big picture as well as the line level work,” Wylie said. “It’s like a giant family.”

Chambers stayed in Springfield, travelling to St. Louis several times to see a more corporate view of operations.

Both enjoyed seeing a behind the scenes look at Drury in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

They went to DI Supply, which supplies everything for Drury Hotels, including the batteries. They enjoyed the small details, like name tags and the uniformity of everything.

Finding a job

“Hospitality leadership at Missouri State is very much about pushing you out of your comfort zone, Chambers said. “I feel like everyone here wants you to be the best you can be.”

Chambers and Wylie both feel prepared for their next step after graduation.

“Once I started working in the industry, my school made more sense,” Wylie said. “It made everything more relevant.”

Chambers and Wylie found out they had positions with Drury in October.

Chambers is going to a 16-week manager in training program (MIT) in Nashville, Tennessee. Wylie is also going to be in the MIT program in St. Louis.

“Miss Abbe didn’t let me leave the career fair, and look at where I am now,” Wylie said, laughing.