Spring/Summer 2011 Newsletter Extended: Alexander
Live It, Protect It, Explore It!
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JASON ALEXANDER: ONE MAN BEHIND THE MOUSE
By Kalli Sandberg (RPTA '14), Staff Writer
During spring quarter, Professor Kendi Root taught RPTA 412: Hotel and Resort Management, a 10-week seminar, teaching students the ins and outs of the hotel business. One of the highlights of the class was meeting Jason Alexander, the General Manager of The Grand Californian Hotel at Disney’s California Adventure. Alexander has a wealth of experience in the industry with over 15 years at Disney alone. The ability to hear from top executives in the field has become a hallmark of classes taught by Root, and one of the many reasons her classes are some of the most popular ones in the major.
Before Alexander moved to the “Happiest Place on Earth,” he graduated from the top hospitality program in the country at Cornell University. At Cornell, he was given plenty of hands-on experience but in reflecting on that experience offered RPTA students some advice in saying that he wished he would have “taken advantage of all of the opportunities beyond the campus borders, like studying abroad.”
Alexander's first position at Disney was the Manager of Attractions, which took him outside of his comfort zone of the hotel industry and plopped him into the world of rides. He said he believes you can make any job worthwhile and interesting. H said many of his co-workers at the time just stood and pushed the same button day in and day out, but Alexander loved the job and enjoyed the thousands of new faces he met every day. He continued to flow in between the hospitality and attractions aspects of Disney, which gave him well-rounded knowledge and experience that made him a better leader and person.
As the General Manager of The Grand Californian Hotel in the California Adventure theme park, the largest of three in-park hotels (and according to him, the one with the most heart), Alexander has proven that a “dream that you wish can come true” if you work hard and persevere. Alexander's visit and message helped inspire RPTA students to continue to dream big and chase their passion in life.
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