Yolanda Rodríguez ‘25 - 2025 Hotelie for Life® Prize Winner
Yolanda Rodríguez ‘25
Philippus Miller III ‘83 Hotelie for Life® Prize Winner
In 2020, the Cornell Hotel Society (CHS) Hotelie for Life® Senior Prize was named in memory of Philippus Miller ’83, longtime director of alumni affairs at The Hotel School (SHA) and founder of the executive search firm Philippus Miller III and Associates. Phil was famously known for facilitating relationships among Hotel School students, faculty, and alumni. He was the consummate Hotelie - a people-person dedicated to serving others.
The winner of the 2025 Hotelie for Life® Senior Prize award is Yolanda Rodríguez ’25.
Yolanda did not consider hospitality programs when she first began investigating colleges. She had an interest in law and business. Knowing the profile of the typical Hotelie, her college counselor (an alumna with a daughter at Cornell) shrewdly recognized that the amiable and service-oriented personality of Yolanda was a perfect fit for the Nolan School of Hotel Administration. Sight unseen because of COVID the pandemic, Yolanda arrived in Ithaca in the fall of 2021.
Despite growing up in the hospitality environment of Puerto Rico, Yolanda did not have any direct hotel or restaurant experience prior to entering Cornell. However, all her extracurricular activities involved some form of service or entertainment. She organized events for service clubs, participated in high school theater, and joined her family volunteering with community service organizations. Yolanda knew she wanted a career that allowed her to interact with people and provide them with joy.
Given her passion for interacting with people, Yolanda entered the Hotel School with a bias towards the guest experience side of the industry. However, after taking a variety of classes during her freshman and sophomore years, she learned about the diversity of opportunities within hotels. Her teaching assistant jobs and summer internships are reflective of this diversity.
The summer after her freshman year, Yolanda returned to Puerto Rico to work at the Courtyard by Marriott Isla Verde Beach Resort property that was anything but select service. This property was located on the beach, had four restaurants, and offered significant function space. Yolanda spent the summer helping execute weddings, catering events, supporting housekeeping, and the team wherever possible.
Following her sophomore year, Yolanda landed an internship with the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) in Washington, DC. While she worked in the member services and strategic partnerships departments, Yolanda got exposure to the industry advocacy and lobbying efforts of the AHLA. Given her initial interest in the law, this piqued her interest.
Yolanda began her association with Marriott after her junior year when she spent the summer in the corporate offices working with the Loyalty Operations team. She was very impressed with the effort and quality of thought Marriott gives the guest experience through its loyalty program.
Throughout her time in Statler, Yolanda was a Teaching Assistant (TA) for multiple courses. The diversity of these courses showcases Yolanda’s many talents, as well as her desire to learn all aspects of the hotel industry. Below is a list of the courses for which Yolanda served as a TA:
● Marketing Management for Services
● Restaurant Management
● Principles of Food and Beverage Operations Management
● Hotelie LaunchPad
● Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series
Serving as a TA was in part driven by Yolanda’s appreciation for multiple Hotel School professors. When asked to identify professors that influenced her education, she said, “I loved them all. They all taught me something valuable.”
In addition to being a TA, Yolanda co-chaired the Dean’s Student Advisory Board, guided students as the President of the Nolan Ambassadors, and was on the board of HEC for two years serving as both the Director of Rooms and Guest Experience, and the Director of People and Culture.
Yolanda had multiple professional opportunities after her graduation in May of 2025. Given her appreciation for Marriott, she opted to join their Voyage program at the Marriott Marquis in Washington DC. “Why not learn from the best.” Yolanda believes a complete understanding of hotel operations will serve as a great base of knowledge regardless of the direction of her future in the hospitality industry. The Voyage program provides Yolanda with the opportunity to work in the Front Office and Housekeeping departments of a large, convention hotel.
While operations is first and foremost for her in the near term, Yolanda acknowledges that her early passion for the law, plus her time at the AHLA, has prepared her for a potential career that involves advocating for causes that benefit the guest experience at hotels.
While Yolanda is impressed with the many directions her Hotelie classmates have taken within the hospitality industry. She recognizes that their paths are united by something far deeper than a shared alma mater. She notes that the common trait that all Hotelies share is the lifelong commitment of “bringing joy to others and living by the common ethos that Life is Service.” She believes that service is not confined to a job description but is a way of moving through the world with purpose and generosity of spirit. This is what being a Hotelie for Life® means to Yolanda.
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Additional 2025 Hotelie for Life® Finalists
The following members of the Cornell University Nolan School of Hotel Administration class of 2025 were selected as finalists for the Hotelie for Life® Senior Prize. Yolanda received a prize of $5000, and the four finalists each received $1000. All of them also received a lifetime membership (valued at $1500) to the Cornell Hotel Society.
● Isabella Suffredini
● Andrew Zhang
● Chayil Hyland
● Sarah Newcomb
The Cornell Hotel Society and Cornell Hotel Foundation congratulate Yolanda and all the award finalists, and wish them the best of success on their journeys as a Hotelie for Life®. This interview was conducted by Robert Mandelbaum ’81.
