My first semester at NYU: Katie Pepitone (Tisch Center)

Katie Pepitone is a freshman in the BS in Hotel and Tourism Management at the Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality. In this post, she reflects on her first semester at NYU.

What made you decide that you wanted to attend NYU and study specifically at the Tisch Center? 

In high school, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do, but I had an idea in the back of my mind that I wanted to be an event planner. I wasn’t even sure if that was something you could go to college for. I started doing some research and found that NYU had event planning as a concentration. Compared to other schools that also offered hospitality as a major, NYU was the obvious choice for me given its location in the City.

Are you involved in any extracurriculars and if not, what extracurriculars are you looking to get involved in?

I have been doing a lot of community service within SPS. One community service initiative I have been involved in is making sandwiches for the homeless. I am also secretary for the Rainbow Alliance, the LGBTQ club for SPS. This is its first year being a club, so it was exciting to be a part of starting it up. I also want to get involved with some music-related extracurriculars since I play baritone, horn, and guitar. 

What is your favorite class this semester?

My favorite class has definitely been Tourism Impacts & Issues with Dr. Minnaert. Dr. Minnaert is really great at taking abstract concepts and using real-life examples to explain them. It’s been really interesting learning about the impacts that tourism has on the world. 

What has been one of the most challenging aspects in college so far?

The overwhelming amount of independence and freedom, which is both positive and negative. It’s been good because it’s nice to feel like I can do whatever I want to do but also challenging because there’s no longer people watching over me and making sure I do what needs to get done. It takes a lot of self control.

What are your goals for the rest of freshman year? 

I really want to put myself out there more. In high school, I mostly stayed with what was familiar to me and was scared to try new things. This semester I went to one of the fireside chats and got to network with some people in the industry, and I want to continue doing more of that. 

What do you see yourself doing in the future?

As of right now, I want to pursue event management and I have always dreamed of being a wedding planner. I can also see myself more on the business side of event planning, with events like pop up shops and product launches.