What is your job/position?
Director of Sales and Relations and Marketing Coordinator for Redfish Lake Lodge. I help run a resort and three hotels in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho.
Describe the path that took you from your American Studies degree to your current career or life situation.
After BYU, I went on to get my Masters in Tourism Management from Colorado State and started working full time in the outdoor resort industry.
What are the specific competencies you cultivated as an American Studies student that you now use in your professional life and that set you apart from your colleagues?
I loved American Studies! It has taught me how to ask the right questions, deeply look at problems and issues, communicate clearly in tough situations, and understand how perspectives are made and tourism culture is formed.
What are some of the surprising ways in which your American Studies degree has helped you in your professional or personal life?
I also absolutely love how I look at and see current events.
What do you wish you had known as an American Studies student? What advice would you share with current students?
The path will become clear as you go forward. Enjoy learning for the sake of learning and be willing to try new jobs and adventures, and your degree will help you mold into what it should be.
*You can contact Austin with questions about his American Studies story at austin.h.clegg@gmail.com.