The Southern Ute Education Department took a group of nine students to Oceanside, Calif. during the week of Monday, June 24 – Friday, June 28 as part of a program launch titled, The Tribal Business Exploration Program. Students had the chance to tour multiple tribally owned businesses and land lots along the Oceanside Pier, gaining insight into the hospitality industry and rental business operated by the Southern Ute Growth Fund. 

Students: Mirra Bourriague, Niko Frost, Neeka Howe, Kandin Johnson, Leandra Litz, Stephen Romero, Ava Sage-Morgan, Paiten Tucson, and Phillip Velasquez traveled to Oceanside, Calif. with chaperones Denise Krispin, Julie Stone, and Dustin Weaver. The mission of the Tribal Business Exploration Program is to introduce the young tribal membership to the businesses owned and operated by the Tribe. Students had to obtain two letters of recommendation, they also had to complete an essay expressing their interest in this program and how they would benefit from the trip. This trip marked the launch of the program, which hopes to see more involvement and exploring other departments within the Growth Fund operations.  

Upon arrival to Oceanside, Calif., the group lodged at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott-Oceanside Beach hotel, formally owned by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. To kick off this trip, students and chaperones met with Brian Mulvany, President/COO of the GF Properties Group LLC., touring the hotel and then later touring the Pierside North and South apartment complexes and the One Mission Avenue land development site. 

“First off [Mulvany] was a really nice guy, as we were touring through the hotel, he was telling us about how that property was unique in that it was custom built by the Tribe, it has a restaurant that is separate from the hotel lobby and the hotel has a concrete structure,” Mirra Bourriague said. “It was interesting to hear about all of the jobs people have at the hotel–I think it was over 200 jobs, something like that–it really takes a tribe in a sense that you need people to take care of the hotel.”  

The group also took time to explore the Oceanside Pier, the nearby beach, and the Oceanside Museum of Art, ending the trip at Legoland. Each activity was made possible by fundraising completed by the program’s members months prior to the trip. The group held concession stands at local events, sold baked goods and candies.  

“To go on this trip we did fundraisers, and we did this by the clinic, [SUIMA], and at Ignacio High School,” Paiten Tucson said. “We sold coffee, tea, some sweets and we were able to raise a lot of money from that for this trip–we worked really hard to earn funds for our extra activities.”  

The majority of the students mentioned the visit to the beach as their most memorable activity while on this trip, students splashed in the nearby ocean after touring the Tribe’s business ventures.  

“My favorite activity was the beach, especially because you can’t find something like the beach experience here on the reservation,” Howe said.  

“I enjoyed going to beach and boogie boarding,” Johnson said. “I also liked exploring the hotel and getting to check out ‘Hello Betty’ which is the restaurant inside the hotel.”  

The trip to Oceanside proved to be successful, in this collaboration between the Southern Ute Education Department and the Southern Ute Growth Fund, students were given this opportunity to travel to Oceanside and gain an understanding of the hospitality work environment, what it takes to operate rental properties, and how the Tribe hopes to continue its growth in the future. Now as the Tribal Business Exploration Program progresses, they hope to gain more members and continue their travel exploring the businesses, properties, and land lots owned by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.  

“I would hope to see more involvement from our high school students and continued involvement from our current members as we continue to learn about the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and all the opportunities that are available to the students,” Denise Krispin said. “We also want to help students understand what kind of continued education or training they might need to pursue some of these careers they learn about.” 

“To further the program, we would like to expand into learning about the oil and gas industry,” Julie Stone said. “Entities like Red Willow have expressed interest in wanting to get involved in the program, we want to continue showcasing what the Tribe has going on–this is just the beginning.”