Julia Cerverizzo, a first-year Hospitality Management major at The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies, has been recognized with the Best Paper Award at the 2025 Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Conference for Researchers, Educators, Practitioners, and Students. The event took place in New York City from April 11 to 12.

Cerverizzo's research delved into experiential marketing and social media engagement within food travel vlogs. Her study explored how YouTube vlog themes and storytelling techniques related to food tourism can affect viewer emotions and engagement.

Seunghyun “Brian” Park, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Division of Administration and Economics and Undergraduate Program Coordinator for Hospitality Management, served as Julia’s faculty mentor. He noted that her work was distinguished by her ability to "connect academic concepts to real-world applications," despite being early in her academic career. Dr. Park added that her approach exemplified the high-quality scholarship encouraged at St. John’s.

Dr. Park highlighted the growing importance of such conferences in higher education for undergraduate students: “These opportunities not only help students sharpen critical thinking and problem-solving skills but also build confidence when their work is validated by peers, faculty, and industry professionals.” He reiterated that St. John’s Hospitality Management program is dedicated to preparing students for leadership roles in hospitality and tourism industries.

For Cerverizzo, participating in the conference was both inspiring and affirming: “Watching food travel vlogs always fascinated me—the way they immerse you in a place through emotion and storytelling. I wanted to understand how that translates into marketing impact,” she said.

Although presenting her research was initially nerve-wracking for Cerverizzo, it ultimately proved empowering: “People were genuinely interested and asked thought-provoking questions,” she remarked. “It helped me see my work in a broader context.”

Winning the Best Paper Award was "incredibly validating" for Cerverizzo, reinforcing her enthusiasm for hospitality marketing: “It showed me that my work matters and encouraged me to keep exploring new ideas.”

The conference also featured former St. John’s alumni as keynote speakers who had previously won Best Paper Awards themselves—Lilly Nguyen ’23MS with a master’s degree in International Hospitality Management, now an Event Coordinator at The Peninsula New York; and John Kelton ’21CCPS with a major in Hospitality Management, currently a Finance Manager at iHeartMedia Inc.

“It was a full-circle moment,” said Kelton about his participation as a speaker. He emphasized networking's value due to many opportunities arising from connections made during his student years.

Nguyen echoed similar sentiments about returning as a keynote speaker: “Being invited back as a keynote speaker was a real honor... Winning the Best Paper Award helped me grow in confidence and professionalism."