My Biltmore Farms mentor, Carol, set up a wonderful internship experience for me. We began with a driving tour of the various properties and developments that are associated with Biltmore Farms which provided me an overview and context for understanding their work. I enjoyed exploring the history of the company and the Vanderbilt family throughout my experience. I met individually with the Biltmore Farms President and each Executive Vice President to learn more about their roles in each division of the company. Throughout the experience, Carol allowed me to shadow her and interact with her Human Resources team which gave me a greater understanding of the talent recruitment and development mindset. Visits to the Arboretum and Biltmore Estates allowed me to conclude my time with Biltmore Farms in a very sentimental way. Throughout my internship, I was overwhelmed by the hospitality and genuine interest everyone showed me as a teacher and I felt their sincerity in supporting my work with students in the future.
Honestly, every moment was interesting but two really stand out. It was amazing to see “behind the scenes” at the Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park hotel. I have a greater appreciation of the many ways they focus on sustainability while providing a luxurious guest experience throughout. From the building design to solar panels on the roof which heat water, and from composting food waste in the restaurant kitchen to recycling used soaps – there is a deliberate focus on responsible stewardship of resources. I was also very interested in learning about the real-world impacts of the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act as I toured the Pratt & Whitney construction site of the bridge and other infrastructure projects. I literally felt the content in my textbook jump off the page as I saw the plans for building bat boxes to protect the endangered bat population and the erosion control methods being implemented to protect the French Broad River.
The biggest challenge I had during my internship was being able to process all of the information I heard and saw. The company is such a diverse operation which encompasses so many aspects of land use and economic development that I am still having a difficult time narrowing down a project for my classroom. Each day as I drove down the mountain, I had time to reflect on ways I could bring the experience back to my students. I went into the internship with one big idea for a PBL unit, but I left with numerous lesson ideas and I know I will not have enough class time to do everything I can envision.
My biggest takeaway came from meeting with Mr. Jack Cecil, the President of Biltmore Farms. I was impressed with his strategic approach to community development, his desire to positively impact the entire western region of North Carolina, and the time he devoted to personally answering all of my questions. As a native of the region, my life has personally been touched by the generosity and vision of the Vanderbilt family, and until my internship I had no idea just how vast the family’s legacy of sustainable land use reaches. It was very inspirational to see how a family owned company can make decisions based on its core values (tenants) and intentionally improve the lives of others with a focus on sustainable use of the resources that make our region so special. I was also impressed by the innovation it took to reinvent the company from a dairy business to what it encompasses today.
It was exciting for me as a high school educator to see the variety of career opportunities available to my students. I was impressed by several of the Vice Presidents who began their education at AB Tech and worked their way up through the industry to their current leadership positions. The hospitality industry provides many career pathways with various education levels which are realistic for many of my students. I also heard about how other executives rely on wildlife biologists, geologists, hydrologists, and engineers from state and federal agencies and private consultant companies to advise them on compliance with federal and state requirements. I am also excited about the future job opportunities and training that will be possible with Pratt & Whitney within an hour’s drive of our county. Finally, I learned a lot about the importance of Human Resources professionals in the work of any company. A focus on recruiting, inducting, and supporting talented individuals with a long-range plan in mind is evident throughout Biltmore Farms.