or students, it is not easy to juggle a part-time job in the industry and meet top-notch academic standards. Missouri restaurant and hotel associations and the hospitality management department recognized students for their hard work.

On April 26, the hospitality management program hosted an awards dinner to announce annual scholarships and induct new members into Eta Sigma Delta, an honor society exclusive to hospitality management students.

Junior Jacquelyn Lizar poses with her Missouri Restaurant Association scholarship certificate.

Students had the opportunity to socialize with professionals working in the field, complete with refreshments and dinner prepared by students in the food and beverage management emphasis area taking the Banquet and Catering course. The keynote speaker was Buddy Lahl, president of the Missouri Restaurant Association.

The three following organizations provided the scholarships through the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Office of Advancement: the Missouri Restaurant Association, the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Foundation and the Hotel and Lodging Association of Greater Kansas City. The scholarships will later be distributed to students in the form of a check addressed to the University of Missouri.

The MRA raised funds for scholarships through its Taste of Mid-Missouri event, this year held at the University Club on March 14. The annual event put on by the MRA mid-Missouri chapter has raised more than $125,000 in scholarship funds for students in Mizzou’s hospitality management program. The five MRA scholarship recipients were: Kristen Bogolin, Jacquelynn Lizar, Desirae Cox, Tricia Morgan and Joshua Bruce. The recipient of the Joyce Walls endowed scholarship is Walker McCall Lapen.

Lizar is a junior who studies conference and events in the program. The extra support through the MSA scholarship not only reduces her stress, but also her parents’, who support both Lizar and her younger brother attending Mizzou.

“The scholarship will definitely reduce the stress of finances for me,” Lizar said. “The extra funds give me a little more peace of mind and allow me to focus more on my senior year and the rest of my classes and not so much on how am I going to afford school. Upon learning I received this award I was very excited and grateful.”

Seonghee Cho, associate professor in hospitality management, assisted with selecting students for the AHLEF and HLAGKC scholarships. The MRA of Mid-Missouri selected its own scholarship recipients.

In order to receive the AHLEF scholarships, students had to have a 3.0 minimum cumulative GPA and have experience working in the hospitality industry. The AHLEF scholarship recipients were: Alanna Wright, Sarah Shiverly, Christi Tahk, Dana Yanow and Sheridan Cook.

To receive the HLAGKC scholarship, students had to have a minimum 2.3 cumulative GPA and have experience working in the hospitality industry. Those recipients were: Brent Doering, Caniah Sims, Baylin Petrillo, Anne Phillips, Margaret Blood and Melissa Roach.

During the scholarship dinner, Eta Sigma Delta inducted 23 new members into the international honor society. These inductees must be juniors or seniors, have a cumulative GPA in the top quartile of their class and complete a service event every semester.

Program Chair Eliza Tse presents a certificate to Eta Sigma Delta inductee.

“We’re trying to get more people involved in the organization,” senior Jill Murray said. “Since Eta Sigma Delta is exclusive to hospitality majors only, people in the industry are going to recognize it as well, so when they see it on your resume they may say, ‘Oh, I was in this chapter at this university.’ It’s a great networking tool.”

The new members this year are: Annalise Andriacchi, Courtney Bavender, Abigale Buckland, Katrina Burlison, Chloe Clark , Madeline DeRose, Sierra Dominiak, Rachel Francis, Tiffany Garavaglia, Deirdre Harman, Heidi Hilbert, Courtland Gerhart, Walker Lapen, Courtney McFarland, Jill Murray, Regan Obermann, Gina Parisi, Sarah Rogers, Sarah Shively, Emily Strassner, Shayne Turpin, John Varygiannes, and Jessica Warnick.

“During the ceremony we read off the organization’s five points of honor and light candles, and then we are inducted into the society,” said senior Katrina Burlison, Eta Sigma Delta inductee.