{"id":189361,"date":"2026-03-12T23:10:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T23:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/189361\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T23:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T23:10:13","slug":"got-industry-experience-at-the-worlds-largest-learning-lab-on-the-sands-of-south-beach-fiu-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/189361\/","title":{"rendered":"Got industry experience at the world\u2019s largest learning lab on the sands of South Beach | FIU News"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year marked my first time working at the renowned South Beach Wine & Food Festival\u00ae, a milestone\u00a0I had long looked forward to as an FIU student. As I stood with\u00a0a\u00a0camera in hand, watching students move swiftly between plating gourmet dishes, crafting cocktails and supporting sustainability efforts, I\u00a0couldn’t\u00a0have been more grateful to capture true hospitality in action.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a marketing assistant for the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, I was grateful to attend and work\u00a0at\u00a0seven events throughout the weekend.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

More than just a celebration of food and beverages, this opportunity allowed me to see the passion and soul of hospitality right here in the heart of Miami.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the Festival, I was able to capture a variety of work happening behind the scenes from different angles. Some of my highlights included the sustainability efforts led by the FIU Green Team, sponsored by Nestl\u00e9 Professional, the work of current FIU alumni as hospitality leaders and connecting with current industry professionals.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

One moment that stood out in particular was the sustainability initiatives led by the FIU Green Team. Witnessing and capturing 500 students working together to make a large-scale event as sustainable as possible allowed me to gain a new level of respect and appreciation for all the parts that go into creating hospitality experiences that are not only entertaining but environmentally responsible.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Getting to experience\u00a0Wine Spectator\u2019s Best of the Best was incredible. I especially enjoyed capturing the creativity and production behind it all, with students working hard throughout every step of the process\u2014from preparation\u00a0to execution\u00a0to the perfect\u00a0finishing touches.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

During this event, along with Sunday Brunch hosted by Katie Lee, Jeff\u00a0Mauro\u00a0and Geoffrey Zakarian as part of The New York Times Series, I had the chance to hear directly from hospitality leaders themselves.\u00a0My main role was\u00a0interviewing and capturing stories\u00a0of FIU alumni who now excel in their real-world hospitality careers. That\u00a0was exciting.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As someone who has always loved the Food Network, meeting some of my favorite stars felt like an absolute dream.\u00a0But even better, during\u00a0the\u00a0Festival, I had the opportunity to meet Guy Fieri\u00a0and interview\u00a0him. As\u00a0a\u00a0girl who\u00a0grew up watching\u00a0almost every\u00a0episode of\u00a0Guy\u2019s Grocery Games\u00a0and\u00a0Diners,\u00a0Drive-Ins\u00a0and Dives, this meant the world to me. I also had\u00a0the amazing chance to speak with Aarti Sequeira, another Food Network chef\u00a0 and a personal childhood favorite of mine. During the interview,\u00a0I asked what advice she would give to\u00a0FIU\u00a0students.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cExperience goes beyond the book. As a student, take every opportunity you can. Most often\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0the moments where you stretch yourself where you learn a cosmic amount. For all students stepping out of their comfort zone, keep being brave \u2014 it\u2019s a lifelong journey,\u201d Sequeira said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The advice she shared for students was inspiring and encouraged listeners to continue growing outside their comfort zones.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0a public relations and advertising student, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival\u00ae has reminded me that no matter what career I pursue, the heart of hospitality\u00a0belongs in every workplace. These experiences will continue to fuel my passion for curating memorable moments\u2014leading with service, leaving guests with memories that bring them back, and telling stories that go far beyond the moment itself.<\/p>\n

\"Guy<\/p>\n

Barnett meets Food Network legend Guy Fieri behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Star-struck Barnett with her celebrity chef inspiration, Aarti\u00a0Sequeira.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A perfect pairing\u2014Barnett, FIU student, and renowned chef Alex Guarnaschelli.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This year marked my first time working at the renowned South Beach Wine & Food Festival\u00ae, a milestone\u00a0I…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189362,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-189361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}