Jefferson High School in Tampa, Florida, has officially become the district’s first Magnet School of Hospitality and Tourism. This new designation brings together several existing academy programs, including culinary, cosmetology, welding, and criminal justice, under one unified umbrella.

Partnership with Visit Tampa Bay

The school has partnered with Visit Tampa Bay to provide students with guest speakers, field trips, job shadowing, internships, and other hands-on opportunities in the hospitality and tourism industry. Visit Tampa Bay will leverage its network of over 1,000 local business partners to support the students.

According to Visit Tampa Bay, the hospitality and tourism industry supports one in five jobs locally and brings in over $9 billion in economic impact. The partnership aims to connect teenagers with this industry and provide them with valuable experience and skills.

Student Opportunities

Starting Monday, 250 incoming magnet freshmen will take a ‘101 Hospital and Tourism’ class in one of the school’s four newly designed classrooms. The school’s principal, Jennifer Canady, explained that connecting these seemingly different trades under one hospitality and tourism designation was a natural fit.

Laraina Fernandez, a 17-year-old incoming senior and Student Government Association president, has spent the last three years in the school’s Criminal Justice and Law Academy. She believes that working in hospitality and tourism can help bridge the gap between high school and joining the police academy.

Original reporting: Tampa Bay Florida News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.