Cornell Hotel School grad Julie Margolin grew up in Westchester, but her interests are Universal

Julie Margolin, the daughter of Yonkers residents Barbara and Arthur Margolin in Westchester County, is the top winner of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration's prestigious 1999 Drown Prize.

Margolin is the ideal ambassador for the Hotel School. Outgoing and well-spoken, she easily conveys her enthusiasm for the school while acting as a tour guide to prospective students. They brighten visibly when she tells them, "I've truly made the most of my experience here."

The Drown Prize was established by hotelier Joseph W. Drown and at $15,000 is one of Cornell's heftiest academic awards. It is presented yearly to the Hotel School student who holds the promise of making a significant contribution to the hospitality industry.

Margolin, who will be a food services manager for Universal Studios in Hollywood after she graduates, grew up in Crestwood, N.Y., on the edge of Yonkers, among close-knit, supportive family members. Her sister Sarah, 25, is a Cornell Hotel School graduate who now works for Seagram's, as did Margolin's father. Another sister, Carolyn, 19, is a biology major at Cornell. Margolin's mother, a Cornell graduate, taught grade school before become a full-time mom, and grandmother Irene Selig, another Yonkers resident, also was a teacher. Selig's husband, Lester Selig, now deceased, was a school superintendent who helped integrate Westchester and New York City schools.

"For a while I considered going into teaching, too," explains Margolin, "but now I hope to teach through training others at Universal. There is an aspect of teaching in everything we do," she says. "It's an exchange. When you're younger you give time and patience, and your teacher shares knowledge. When you're older, you also exchange experience."

The position at Universal involves feeding crowds of hungry tourists -- on average 30,000 visitors a day. "Families gear up to come here," she says. "You have the opportunity to make their day, or to ruin it." She worked for Universal for two of her college summers, first in Orlando, Fla., and then in the Hollywood location and liked what she saw and got to do.

"It was fast-paced, and I was treated as a professional and got to try my hand at everything, including prep cook and restaurant manager," she says. She describes the quality of service at Universal as exceptional among theme parks and the food quality as much better than standard fast-food fare -- freshly prepared salads, sandwiches to order, rotisserie chicken and her favorite, marinated ribs.

At the Hotel School, Margolin was involved for four years in Hotel Ezra Cornell, the student-run hotel-for-a-weekend that attracts top hospitality practitioners. Restaurant Management, coordinated by Lecturer Barbara Lang, was among her favorite courses. She also valued Professor Glenn Altschuler's American Studies class. "It was a large lecture in Bailey Hall, and the students hung on his every work," she recalls.

In addition, she found time to work on numerous community projects. She repaired low-income houses during a public service day sponsored by Habitat for Humanity, painted a local community center through The Partnership, a Cornell-community alliance, raised money for the Alcoholism Council of Tompkins County and coordinated two Collegetown cleanups through the Panhellic Association. "People really appreciated the effect of what we did," she says.

She helped tutor a student at Louis Gossett Jr. Residential Center in Lansing, N.Y., as part of Professor George Posner's The Art of Teaching class. "I really felt like I was making a difference," she says. "We got to be friends, and he opened up and shared his future plans with me."

While her thoroughly positive Cornell experience makes Margolin feel "not quite ready to be a graduate," she is excited about her future at Universal, which will allow her to do what she loves best -- helping people enjoy themselves. "I get to put smiles on the faces of lots of little kids." The feeling that comes from that, she says, is priceless.

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