Compassionate Hospitality Leaders Gather For A 100-Year Tradition At Cornell University

By Laurel Donnellan and Meryl Eriksen (Originally published at Forbes.com)

One hundred years ago, a group of visionary students at The Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University, created a gathering that would bridge the academic and professional worlds of hospitality. Today, Hotel Ezra Cornell—known affectionately as HEC—has become one of the most unique and enduring student-led conferences in the world.

When I was a student there from 1978 to 1982, I used to say that “I majored in HEC.” I loved the challenge of running a themed event for alums that came from my imagination and was executed with a team of my fellow students. One year, it was an “Around the World in 80 Days Brunch.” I spent hours in the kitchen creating a hot air balloon for the buffet out of bread and sugar. During my Junior year, I worked with my friends to design and execute an extravaganza, “Cast Party,” where students and alumni guests could drink, dance, and be merry together in Barton Hall, Cornell’s athletic center, which we transformed into a fancy ballroom. 

In its centennial year, the HECentennial not only honored a rich legacy but also highlighted the enduring impact of hospitality leadership in building community, cultivating empathy, and transforming lives. The milestone event brought together students, alums, faculty, and industry professionals in a celebration that underscored a central truth: hospitality is about relationships, not transactions, and at the core of those relationships is compassion.

Other schools have followed in this tradition of adding undergraduate-led conferences, but most have been launched in this century, including: 

1. The Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurs (BASE) Conference, held at the University of California, Berkeley, focuses on entrepreneurship, startups, and tech innovation, and was founded in 2000.
2. The Kellogg Marketing Undergraduate Conference (KMUC), held at Northwestern University, focuses on marketing, consulting, and business strategy and was founded in 2007.
3. The Stanford Women in Business (SWIB) Conference, focusing on Women’s leadership, career development, business, and entrepreneurship, was launched in 2005.
4. The Wharton Undergraduate Research Scholars Conference (WURSC) at the University of Pennsylvania was founded in 2014. 

Each year since its inception in 1925, HEC has invited hundreds of students to step into executive-level roles—managing logistics, designing guest experiences, and leading teams. The result is a generation of graduates with not just practical skills but emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and a deep sense of responsibility. What began as a student-run conference has now evolved into a global model for values-based, compassionate leadership.

Dean Kate Walsh, who has led the School of Hotel Administration for nearly a decade and served on the faculty for over 25 years, emphasized the transformative potential of the field:“The secret to happiness is giving to others. Being in hospitality brings out the nurturing side of me—not just to feed, but to help people feel whole, seen, and heard.”She described HEC as “a return home” for alumni and “a moment of profound pride” for students—a space where future leaders discover the joy and meaning that comes from caring for others. Through that experience, the mission of hospitality becomes deeply personal, enduring, and compassionate in nature.

The hospitality mindset—caring, anticipating needs, and building a sense of belonging—is increasingly essential in every sector. Ted Teng, former CEO of Leading Hotels of the World, offered a powerful reminder that hospitality leadership is defined by empathy and excellence: “We serve not because we have to, but because we get to. That’s the magic.”Teng added that compassionate leadership is not limited to the hospitality industry, but is needed everywhere. “If more leaders thought like hoteliers, our organizations would be more human.”

Yolanda Rodriguez, People and Culture Director for HEC 100, echoed this idea from the student perspective, “There’s a shared belief in this community that we lift each other up. Just support, encouragement, and a deep belief that there’s space for everyone. We celebrate each other’s highs and help each other through the lows.”

This belief system, rooted in care and collective success, is central to hospitality education at Cornell and embodied through the relationships formed at HEC. Meryl Eriksen, a 2007 graduate and Chief Compassion Officer at Compassionate Leaders Circle, reflected on how HEC fosters values that transcend industries: “Compassion is the heartbeat of true hospitality. When we lead with love and connection, when we see one another, we create spaces where people can thrive. HEC reminds us that leadership isn’t about status or title; it’s about presence, care, and the courage to serve.”

Sarah Newcomb, the 2025 Managing Director of HEC, described the centennial conference as a full-circle moment—both personally and culturally. Her leadership embodied the values of mentorship, trust, and mutual respect that define the Hotelie community. “HEC has been the most impactful classroom of my college career,” she shared. “It’s not just about managing logistics or solving problems under pressure—it’s about learning how to lead with empathy, how to collaborate with care, and how to bring out the best in those around you.” 

That ethos was captured in a small but powerful moment during the weekend: years ago, a first-year student was invited to brunch by a senior who quietly picked up the check and said, “Just do this for someone else when you’re a senior.” That same student, now in their final year, paid it forward at HECentennial. These quiet acts of generosity reflect a culture of compassionate leadership—one that inspires individuals to lead not through authority, but through care and example.

Many alumni reflected on how the School of Hotel Administration shaped their personal and professional values long after graduation. Whether working in hospitality, wellness, design, or education, their stories echoed a shared truth: the ability to care deeply and lead compassionately is a differentiator in every industry. It is not just a soft skill—it is a strategic advantage.

The centennial gathering offered a vivid portrait of how hospitality leadership continues to shape the world, not through grand gestures but through daily commitments to empathy, excellence, and inclusion. This kind of leadership demands more than competence; it requires character. And it calls for the courage to lead with heart.

Hospitality, at its best, is the art of making others feel at home. It is the practice of compassion in motion. For 100 years, HEC has demonstrated that leaders who understand this truth can change the world—one relationship, one gesture, one act of care at a time.