The Next Generation
in 2008, eldridge Betts realized he didn’t have enough money to continue studying for his associate degree in culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America. As a result, he applied for Marriott International Inc.’s Scholar program, launched in 2007 to increase and diversify the talent pipeline at Marriott, one of be’s 40 Companies for Diversity. Under the program, scholarship recipients can receive as much as $9,000 annually toward tuition assistance for up to four years as well as internship and mentorship opportunities. Betts is now working on his bachelor’s degree in culinary arts at the institute in Hyde Park, New York. The Scholar program gives him “years of experience in a short period of time,†he says. During summer and winter breaks, Betts, 21, works as a line cook at JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Orlando, Florida. When Betts graduates from the program in 2011, he will advance into Marriott’s Management Development Program.
