Internships

Excellent internships are available at hotels, restaurants, commercial attractions, convention and visitors bureaus, travel agencies, chambers of commerce, and state and national parks. Generous assistance is provided to students seeking internships.

• Here's a list of recent internship sites that BHSU students have participated in:
  • Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida
  • The Hotel Alex Johnson,  Rapid City, SD 
  • Spearfish Holiday Inn and Conference Center, Spearfish, SD 
  • Fairfield Inn, Spearfish, SD
  • Bay Harbor Resort, Petoskey, MI
  • Hoofprints of the Past Museum, Kaycee, WY
  • Howard Johnson Express Inn
  • Spearfish Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau, Spearfish, SD
  • Belle Fourche Chamber of Commerce, Belle Fourche, SD
  • Audrie's Bed and Breakfast, Rapid City, SD
  • Surbeck Center, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD 
  • Mostly Chocolates, Rapid City, SD

If you are interested in learning more about the internships available, contact Dr. Dan Spencer at (605) 642-6876 or DanSpencer@bhsu.edu.

Guest Lectures

Here are a few examples of the professionals and entrepreneurs who have recently guest lectured and/or provided tours of their facilities for the students in the Tourism and Hospitality Managementprogram at BHSU:

• Richard Miller, Superintendent of Custer State Park, spoke on policy and management issues facing the Park
• Ralph Justin, President of Black Hills Transportation, Inc., Deadwood, spoke on planning of the Deadwood, Black Hills & Western Railroad
• Jo Lutnes, Director of the Spearfish Convention and Visitors Bureau, spoke on the planning of a bicycle trail to link Spearfish to the Mickelson Trail
• Brian Carmichael, General Manager, Gold Dust Gaming, Deadwood, spoke on management and marketing issues facing his casino and demonstrated his state-of-the-art security system
• Howard and Audrey Shaff, former owners of America Tours West, spoke on operating a receptive services agency
• Randy Gustafson, V.P. of Operations, Stone Consulting & Design, spoke on tourist railroad planning
• Leigh Kamstra, Owner of Roma's Restaurant in Spearfish, spoke on managing an independent restaurant and gave us a tour of her facilities
• Tom Blair, Chairman of the Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board, spoke on plans to control off-road vehicle riding on Black Hills National Forest
• Steve Ramsdell, Kitchen Manager at the Spearfish Convention Center, spoke on managing restaurant and banquet service in a convention center and gave us a tour of his facilities
• Monty McNabb, General Manager of Applebee's Restaurant in Spearfish, spoke on managing a franchise restaurant and gave us a tour of his facilities
• Betty Carper, former owner of Southlake Travel Agency in Morrow, Georgia, spoke on operating a retail travel agency

Clubs

Join the Travel and Tourism Club, comprised of students majoring in tourism and hospitality management. The goal of this club is to help you obtain your first professional job in the tourism and hospitality field. With this focus, the activities of the Club include the following:

• Assistance with resume preparation, including constructive critiques by fellow students and Dr. Spencer.
• Assistance with preparing for job interviews, including mock interviews with fellow students and Dr. Spencer.
• Facilitation of networking opportunities with potential employers in the tourism and hospitality field through attendance at such functions as the annual tourism conference in Pierre and the annual meetings of the Black Hills, Badlands and Lakes Association and Black Hills Central Reservations.
• Field trips to tourism enterprises
• Presentations on campus by tourism professionals, to include remarks on what they look for in graduates and advice on how to succeed in the tourism field today.
• Social events.