“I think it is a great experience for our generation to be able to share ideas that could very well change businesses, industries and the world,” Brenner, a hospitality business junior, said. “Diversity is especially important in the hospitality industry because it’s an industry built on inclusivity and culture. Humans travel our world to explore and appreciate different cultures, people and experiences. The industry must stand behind these values to remain successful.”
The students wanted to explore how K-culture’s popularity — which has increased throughout the COVID-19 pandemic — can affect cultural understanding. Specifically, they explored how K-culture exposure impacted Americans’ willingness to better understand Korean and Asian cultures, alleviate Asian hate crime and get to know differing ethnicities and races.
In addition, Ochoa, a hospitality business senior, earned second place and a $500 prize for her individual poster presentation, “Why DEI is Critical to Rectifying the Labor Crisis.” This is Ochoa’s second year in a row landing in the winner’s circle at the event.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working under Dr. MiRan Kim on the DEI study, which started actually as a research proposal at last year’s Diversity Research Showcase,” Ochoa said. “My co-researcher and I won the Research in Progress Award last year and decided to run with it. We spent about three weeks (much less time than is typically expected) and developed a survey, which we sent to HB alumni. We received great support and ended up with really telling findings and implications.”
Ochoa’s study examined how DEI policies are impactful in influencing employee perspectives leading to retainment and attraction. She also looked at why DEI is important to leaders in the hospitality industry and what goals hospitality businesses are trying to achieve by adapting current policies.
Beyond the Diversity Research Showcase, Ochoa has presented her findings at two other conferences, earning first place with co-researcher Live Cannella, hospitality business senior, for Best Presentation Paper at the THEREPS Conference, as well as showcasing her work with the college’s Real Estate Investment Management industry board.
“Now that I have a few conferences and presentations under my belt, I can absolutely say the Diversity Research Showcase is the most comfortable environment for an undergraduate researcher and greatly showcases the talent MSU has to offer,” she said. “I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity and platform this showcase has given me in fostering my research.”
Broad Spartans have participated in the university-wide Diversity Research Showcase for years and have landed in the winner’s circle since 2019.
MSU's Diversity Research Showcase features undergraduate student work or work in progress on issues of diversity that advance inclusion.
Broad Spartans Layna Cho, Miquela Ochoa and Olivia Brenner (not pictured) and linguistics student Lauryn Davis (center) won first place for their oral presentation.
