Waipahu High School teacher puts students on career paths, wins national teacher awards
WAIPAHU—With the 2010 school year about to begin, some students and teachers are still enjoying the last days of summer and reflecting on the achievements of last school year.
Most recently, Waipahu High School teacher Todd Nakayama was given the 2010 Lamp of Knowledge Award for Outstanding High School Educator and a Teachers of Excellence Award by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI). This summer, he traveled to Phoenix, Arizona to accept his awards at the American Hotel & Lodging Association Summer Summit in Phoenix during the Stars of the Industry Awards Luncheon.
?“This is a notable and well deserved achievement for Todd,” said Murray Towill, president of the Hawaii Hotel & Lodging Association (HHLA). “He is passionate about his work and brings tremendous energy and skill to his teaching.”??
The Lamp of Knowledge Award is given to teachers that are committed to advancing the quality of professionalism and education in the hospitality industry. The Teachers of Excellence Award recognizes teachers who use the Lodging Management Program (LMP) school-to-career curriculum in their classrooms to the maximum. Nakayama is the only teacher of the LMP in Hawaii and was nominated by the HHLA.
Prior to becoming an LMP instructor, Nakayama had no travel industry experience before enrolling in a internship program at the Marriott Ko Olina Beach Club to gain experience and credibility with his students. Along with teaching, he now works part time at Ko Olina after completeing the internship.
About half the students in Nakayama’s business classes are first generation immigrants from the Philippines, and a third speak English as a second language.
Nakayama tries to direct his students toward higher education with an emphasis on travel industry management. He has searched for business partnerships where his students can intern at and also provides students opportunities to use their skills, including planning and executing their own fundraising events to help lower the costs to attend the National LMP competition in Florida.
The Education Institute founded in 1953 as a nonprofit educational foundation, of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, supports the lodging industry, hospitality schools and related industries both by providing resources to train, and certify hospitality professionals.
For more information, visit http://www.ahlef.org/.