Student Spotlight: Grace Canzano ’25

When Grace Canzano started looking at colleges the summer before her junior year of high school, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to study. “I was good at all my subjects but didn’t really love any one of them,” she said. But a family member suggested that she look into hospitality, and she got curious. "I realized I found it very interesting, and it wasn’t something they really teach you in high school.”

Canzano’s decision to explore hospitality and tourism management at Isenberg has led to discoveries and opportunities that the Fort Myers, Florida, native had no experience with before college: She is currently finishing a full-time intensive Disney College Program food and beverage internship at Walt Disney World in Orlando, and she was the recipient of this year’s Club Foundation Joe Perdue National Student Scholarship.

When she returns to UMass for the spring 2024 semester, Canzano will step into her role as co-president of the UMass Student Chapter of the Club Management Association of America (CMAA). She previously served as president of that organization for the 2022–2023 academic year and is also an active member of the UMass HTM American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) Chapter, Isenberg Women in Business, Isenberg Global Citizens, UMass HTM Ambassador Program, and UMass University Programming Council.

Embracing Adventure

Canzano’s decision to attend UMass hinged on the broad range of opportunities available at the school. “There were two things in the beginning that I liked about UMass,” says Canzano. “First, growing up in Florida, I wanted to see snow. That was very exciting. Second, I loved that it was so big. It seemed to allow for a lot of ways to find your own place.”

She was not disappointed. “UMass is full of opportunities. I got pretty involved right away, and by February of my first year, I was already in San Diego for the CMAA World Conference. We traveled all over Massachusetts and I’ve also traveled to Florida and New York.”

Canzano’s experience at Isenberg has also provided invaluable experience in networking. “On campus, everybody in the HTM program is really close,” she says. “As time goes on, you walk into class and start realizing that you know all these people, which is really nice.”

Her experience interning with Disney in Orlando opened even more doors. “In Orlando, they bring in people from everywhere. I’ve made international connections, and those are relationships I’m definitely going to keep.”

Canzano particularly loves the hands-on aspects of the Isenberg HTM program. She’s looking forward to her upcoming restaurant management course, which involves direct experience working both front and back-of-house in a busy restaurant environment.

“That’s one thing I love about this major—it’s not just reading a book or doing a PowerPoint presentation; it’s getting involved with engaging, interesting, real-world experiences.”

A Focus on Club Management

The Club Foundation’s National Student Scholarship was an honor Canzano was excited to receive, and she is already seeing some of the results of the recognition.

“We had a CMAA club conference in November in West Palm Beach,” she says. “Someone from the Michigan chapter recognized me as one of the scholarship recipients. We started talking and formed a connection. That’s when I realized that the scholarship is going to give me a leg up—it will get my name out there and people will know who I am.”

The future is bright for Canzano, and she’s leaving her options open. “Next year I’m hoping to intern in either New York or Boston. I want the opportunity to live in a city, even just for a short time. And it’s possible I could come out of graduation wanting to stay in one of those places. But right now, I would like to move to the east coast of Florida and work in clubs, at least when I start out. Of course, we’ll see where everything goes.”