Marissa Davison, Class of 2022, will attend York County Community College’s two-year hospitality program in the fall. Setting her sights on becoming a flight attendant, she said the program will help because while airlines do not require a traditional four-year degree, they do want to see a background in hospitality.

Pursuit of this career though relatively recent was a culmination of a lifelong interest of traveling and it sort of clicked when she realized life after high school did not mean expensive four-year programs or going straight into the workforce with no direction.

“I always thought college meant I would come out with so much debt that I'm going to have to pay off for the rest of my life. I really didn't want that and I don't like big schools either … I didn't think about the smaller jobs like hospitality or anything like that. I definitely wanted a job where I could travel and see the world – even though I've only flown three times. I just love it.”

Davison discovered her passion for travel while visiting Florida and touring parts of New England with a Boothbay family she used to babysit for. Ever since, she has been hoping to make it back to Florida and visit Hawaii, the Bahamas and Spain. “I love beaches and warm weather. I would also love to go to Georgia. I don't know why, it's just always interested me … Growing up, I always stayed at home, so it's definitely nice for new scenery and especially seeing the different cultures … I just knew I wanted to travel the world for work and get to see more of it.”

College and Career Access Coordinator Hannah Johnson helped Davison narrow down pathways, but it took some research to find affordable programs which would give Davison the leg up she needs for that specific area of hospitality. Johnson told her she has had students come to her specifying careers in aviation or the general hospitality industry, but never for flight attendant specifically, said Davison. “She said it was pretty cool and I think it was a fun challenge on her end as well.”

The Maine Community College System (MCCS) has the lowest tuition rates in Maine, Davison said. Since the program appeared to be everything she would need to demonstrate a solid background to begin her career, Johnson brought Davison to visit the campus. It was perfect, Davison said. “It was everything I want: small, family-like.”

YCCC requires two internships in hospitality over the course of two summers. Davison said she will take a couple online classes this summer while interning at a hotel. Other requirements will include hospitality and tourism classes, public speaking and culinary, she said.

After she completes her program, Davison said she hopes to have a job with an airline lined up because most airlines keep new flight attendants on standby for a year or more, assigning flights as they come up. Connecting with people in the business via social media groups has helped her learn about some of the details of the job.

“After that first year, they give you a full schedule and they can station you anywhere. I would really like to end up somewhere in Florida, but I read an article that said most first-year flight attendants end up in Boston or New York. I'm not really a big city person, so that's going to be very interesting if that happens.”