Christina Tang, Senior Human Resources Manager at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Downtown SOMA, shares her journey from hospitality student at San Francisco State University to a long-standing HR leader. In this episode, Christina reflects on how her internships shaped her career path, the lessons she learned working in union hotels, and her insights on guiding the next generation of hospitality professionals.

📌 Key Takeaways:

• Two internships — one rotational and one project-based — helped Christina discover her passion for human resources and set her career direction early.
• Working in union hotels taught her structure, fairness, and how standardized systems build confidence in complex operations.
• As a mentor, she emphasizes giving interns a full-cycle HR experience, from recruiting and onboarding to handling real-world challenges.
• Christina sees both promise and risk in AI’s growing role in HR — urging future professionals to “keep the human factor” at the center.
• Her advice to students: have a 10-year vision, but focus on excellence in the present — doing great work today is what earns tomorrow’s opportunities.

If this is your first time to the IOI podcast, it is recommended you start with this episode

Simeon Ong, Sales Manager for Associations at Marina Bay Sands, shares how an eight-month internship gave him full MICE-industry exposure, built his confidence, and ultimately shaped his career path in tourism, destination sales, and global events.

📌 Key Takeaways

• His internship gave him complete end-to-end event experience, and he discovered how working across logistics, proposals, sourcing, and operations built the foundation for his sales career.
• When COVID shut down the industry, he learned that career resilience and adaptability open unexpected paths, allowing him to return stronger to the tourism sector after time in HR.
• He emphasizes that networking is the most powerful tool students can develop, because internship contacts became industry partners, mentors, and future colleagues.
• Entering association sales taught him that selling a destination is bigger than selling a venue, and he finds meaning in bringing international events that grow Singapore’s tourism economy.
• Through every event and client interaction he continues to show that curiosity and a growth mindset fuel long-term success in the global MICE and hospitality industries.