Presenting 2025 Hotelie Hall of Fame Story - John Sharpe '65
Published on August 4, 2025
An excerpt from John's story...
As a kid from rural Arkansas, and later from a small town in Canada, I was fascinated by hotels. This was especially true while traveling to baseball or hockey games in Detroit, staying at the old Book Cadillac, officially known as The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit.
Hearing about Cornell from a family friend, I drove to Ithaca in the Spring of 1961 for a “walk-in” meeting with Professor Thomas Silk, a high-profile faculty member at the school. When hearing that my intention was to apply for the coming September, he almost had a fit, as I came to the meeting without SAT scores and without an application, expecting to start classes four months later. Long story short, I entered the Hotel School that fall.