Carla Godsman
Name: Carla Godsman
Job: Sales & Marketing Coordinator, Hotel Co 51
Industry: Hospitality
Class of: 2015
House: Clyde
What do you do?
I work for hotel operator Hotel Co 51, one of the largest franchisees of Marriott in Europe with over 35 hotels. Currently, I work for the Scotland sales team and my role involves a mixture of both Sales and Marketing for our 3 brands; Courtyard by Marriott, Moxy and AC by Marriott.
How did you get to where you are today?
I left the High School in 2015 and headed to the US where I studied at The University of Vermont Grossman School of Business whilst competing as a D1 student athlete. My four years in the US were slightly different to the typical student back home. Whilst studying full-time, I dedicated about 40hrs per week to training and playing hockey. I learnt a lot about managing a busy schedule, leadership and self-discipline. Although being a student athlete involves a lot of hard work, it gave me the opportunity to visit many amazing places across the US and create lifelong friendships.
After graduating in 2019, I moved to Boston and spent the year working in the city. After this, I returned home in 2020. Like many young professionals and recent graduates, I struggled finding a new job during lockdown. So, I spent a year working for Spaces, a serviced office company before joining Hotel Co 51 in early 2022. Since then, I have been working with the sales team to help generate new business and support our marketing team. We are currently preparing to open a new hotel in Inverness next month!
What is a standout memory of your time at The High School of Glasgow?
As sport has always been a major part of my life, it is only appropriate I choose a hockey memory. A big shout out to the 2014-2015 1st XI who were a success all year, but the 7s tournament we played in 2015 was a fun one. We won every game and the sun was shining!
What is one piece of advice would you give to current pupils and recent leavers as they look to their futures?
Control the controllables! This is something my team talked a lot about during my time in Vermont. It’s definitely one of the most transferable skills from the field to life. Whether it be at school, in the workplace or your everyday life, if you remain focused on the factors you have control over then you’ll be able to manage external factors more effectively.
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