Steven Senft
’98, Hotel & Restaurant Management
‘07, MBA, College of Business Administration

The Collins College of Hospitality Management Alumni Chapter was revised this fall with Steven Senft ’98 at the helm. The new chapter president has high hopes that the membership will grow, and he expects chapter’s first event to coincide with the college’s Hospitality Career Expo in February. 

Senft, a senior broker for HREC Investment Advisors in Beverly Hills, believes there is tremendous value in building a strong network of alumni. He and other members of the chapter’s board want to create more opportunities for alumni to interact with each other and with students, faculty and staff at the college. 

“I really want to bring that feeling of family back between alumni and the college,” Senft said at the chapter’s first meeting in November. “I’d like to see our chapter membership grow from 100 to 1,000. I think that’s very attainable.”

In addition to earning his bachelor’s degree at The Collins College, Senft received his MBA from the College of Business Administration. He applies his Cal Poly Pomona education in his profession by representing sellers and buyers on the disposition and financing of hotel properties nationally, with a focus on assets in the Pacific states. He has considerable experience in hotel management, real estate, mortgage, financial consulting and the start-up of new companies. He recently earned his Certification in Real Estate, Development and Hotel Investment from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

Collins College Interim Associate Dean Michael Godfrey taught Senft as a student and believes he will do well in rebuilding the college’s alumni chapter.

“Steve has the wonderful talent of being able to bring people together for a common goal, whether he is in a formal leadership role or not,” Godfrey says. “Steve did great things for his fellow students as the president of the Hospitality Management Council back in the 1990s.  Personally, I was even more impressed with his ability to use his energy and creativity alone – with no title - to pull his peers together as a student in the restaurant class.  I know Steve’s talent will serve our alums and the college well.”

The Collins College chapter is one of 10 regional, academic, or special interest alumni chapters within the Cal Poly Pomona Alumni Association. In order to re-establish a chapter board, the Office of Alumni Affairs held a three-week nomination period in October, which was followed by a mail-in ballot election. The new chapter leadership also includes:

• Vice President - Russ Bendel, Jr. ’05
• Secretary - Seth Larson ‘02
• Treasurer - Michael Ross ’79
• Chair of Student and Faculty Outreach- Jason Farned '04

The new board is planning to host a breakfast open house on Feb. 26, 2009, for alumni who will be returning to campus for the Hospitality Career Expo. More than 50 companies will be attending the expo, and oftentimes they send Collins College alumni to recruit current students.

Check out Poly@lumni regularly to stay up-to date on chapter activities or visit the chapter’s profile on LinkedIn  http://www.linkedin.com/.