Career Profile - Instructor - Hospitality Program, Red River
Laura Wiebe
As an instructor in the Hospitality Program at Red River College, Laura Wiebe prepares students for careers in the hospitality and tourism industry.
“Student feedback on the value of the material in my courses has been the most rewarding part,” said Wiebe, a graduate of the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She also has her Master of Environmental Studies in Geography – Tourism Policy and Planning from the University of Waterloo.
Laura teaches Business Communications, Marketing and Hospitality Law. Her typical day includes preparing lecture materials, teaching classes, grading, and developing materials for future courses.
While she enjoys her role as teacher and mentor, Laura is a bit of a student at heart herself. In 2012, she won the Graduate Researcher Award for all of Canada from the Travel and Tourism Research Association for a field-study she conducted in Cuba. And continues to contribute academic research for the advancement of the tourism industry.
“I was influenced by Margaret Mead, an anthropological trailblazer,” said Wiebe. “My perspective on tourism is that it is a kind of modern anthropology.
One piece of advice she has for students is that no matter what you end up taking – and what the nature of your post-secondary education and training is – the skills you learn are transferable if you put in hard work and finish what you start.
For more information about careers in tourism & hospitality, visit: www.mtec.mb.ca
