Bringing Technology to the Hospitality & Tourism Industry

Growing up in the literary capital of the south in Monroeville, Alabama, Juanita Harris’ family always focused on education. Her mother was adopted and brought to the US from Germany, where she taught herself English, and received her degree in Medical Billing. Her father served in the Army National Guard and held several certifications including welding, roofing, and auto mechanics. On top of raising three children, her parents were also foster parents taking in five children over the course of Juanita’s upbringing.

So it’s not surprising that Juanita went on to study hospitality management at Alabama A&M University. It was there that she received her Bachelor’s of Science in Nutrition and Hospitality Management, and later her Master’s in Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences. As a manager at Aramark, she had employees working under her that ranged in age from 16 to 80, and their age wasn’t the only range she noticed. The skill set of both the younger and older workers could be improved, particularly in light of technological advances in the industry. Juanita knew she could help. “I always appreciated professors who were from the industry and could give you a real world perspective,” says Juanita.

That’s when Juanita decided to make a career change. She began working in high schools first as a traditional Family & Consumer Sciences teacher before becoming an instructor at Wenonah High School’s Academy of Hospitality & Tourism. She always saw the need for incorporating technology into the industry and therefore the classroom. “When I was a catering manager, I saw the transformation of taking orders over the phone to mainly online. I have seen the need for more technological advances in streamlining processes for scheduling purposes, inventory tracking, everything. Everything is going online and students need to know how to use technology to get the job done.”

When NAF opened the application process to all NAF academies for participating in the Lenovo Scholar Network, a mobile app development partnership between Lenovo and NAF, she jumped at the chance to participate. Her academy was selected as one of only 20 NAF academies nationwide to join an exclusive group of 50 NAF academies using MIT’s App Inventor and Lenovo tablets to create real mobile apps. “In hospitality & tourism, we often get pigeon-holed and sidelined when it comes to technology opportunities. But we’re more than a hamburger and fries machine. There are engineers on cruise ships. There’s accounting. There’s a business side to hospitality and tourism. Everything is connected to technology. My students have to be ready, and that’s why I’m always looking forward.”

Through the Lenovo Scholar Network, Juanita’s students will assess the vital needs pertaining to current systems used in hotels, restaurants, and event centers and how they can be improved with the addition of an app.