Hospitality & Tourism Management
Fall 2025
HOST 139: Career Planning & Preparation
(#31073)
Instructor: Micala Larson (milarson@highline.edu)
Office: 26-301
Student Hours: Tuesdays, 11am-2pm, Thursdays 3:15-5:15pm or by appointment here
Class Schedule: Thursdays, 1:30-3:10PM, 23-210
Text required: HOST courses do not rely on textbooks. All materials for this course will be provided to you
electronically on Canvas
Highline College: 2400 South 240th Street
Des Moines, WA 98198
P: (206) 878-3710
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course offers an introduction to business environments with a focus on deliverables. The deliverables are
specifically: finding a job, creating a resume, writing a cover letter, interviewing, networking, and crafting a
social media presence. Upon successful completion of this course each student will know where to find job
postings, how to earn an interview, best practices in interviewing, networking, and have a resume and cover
letter on file.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Being aware of the course learning outcomes is paramount to success in all of your coursework. The learning
outcomes guide the material each of your courses covers and the manner in which the material is covered. Please
make yourself aware of the elements of this course and all other pertinent courses. The course learning outcomes for
all HOST classes can be viewed at this web address: http://catalog.highline.edu/
The Student Learning Outcomes for this course are as follows:
• Create a resume, cover letter, and thank you letter.
• Formulate a professional job description.
• Apply effective interview techniques.
• Identify effective networking in case studies.
• Identify social media faux pas.
PARTICIPATION
You will have successfully participated in this course by: attending class, supporting your classmates’
learning, submitting your assignments on time and completely, staying up-to-date on all emails, and
submitting work with academic honesty.
STUDENT AND EXCHANGE VISITOR PROGRAM
In compliance with the Student and Visitor Exchange Program (SEVP) requirements for F-1 international students,
this course has an in-person component, which is Thursdays from 1:30-3:10pm in 23-210. All students, regardless of
status, are invited to attend. The in-person component of this class is not required for any student.
ASSIGNMENT PROTOCOLS
All final exams take place face-to-face in courses that are scheduled face-to-face. Hybrid and online courses have
final exams that take place online. The time and location of your final exam will be dictated by the College.
Instructors cannot move final exam locations or times. You are responsible for knowing the time and location of your
final exam. This can be located on Highline.edu.
If you miss the final exam but completed the rest of the course then you may be assigned an Incomplete depending on
the situation. Incompletes can be made up at a later date in agreement with the instructor. You will not be given an
Incomplete if you choose to depart campus early. Flight dates are not a reasonable excuse for missing a final exam.
Assignment Grading
All assignments are graded on a rubric. The rubric will be made available in Canvas prior to the due date.
Table I. Assignment Grading
Assignment No. %/ea. Total %
Overall
Discussion Boards 3 3.3 10
Major Projects 5 6 30
Weekly Assignments 8 2.5 20
Quizzes 3 3.3 10
Final Portfolio 1 30 30
TOTAL 100
All submission and quiz assignments will be submitted on Canvas. You will receive your grade for each assignment within 2 weeks of the due
date.
Assignment Explanations
Each week, assignments will unlock on Monday and be due by Sunday at 11:59pm. You can expect 1-2 assignments
per week that consist of: quizzes, discussion boards, document building, and/or interview prep work.
• Quizzes: There are 3 quizzes total. They are timed and just 10 points each.
• Discussion Boards: We will use our discussion boards this quarter (2 total) to reflect on key concepts or
share your insights with our classroom community. These are spaces for you to learn from one another and
for me to better understand where you’re at. They are mostly looking for your effort, reflections, and insights
rather than for “right” answers.
• Weekly Assignments: These range from 25-60 points depending on how much work they amount to. You
will have around one of these per week and they are used as practice/development of materials that will aid
you in completing your larger projects and our course outcomes.
• Major Projects: These are worth 100 points each and are exactly what they sound like—these are the most
important documents you need to go out and land a job, so they are worth extra weight and time in our
curriculum. There are 5 total.
• Final Portfolio: This is what will serve as your Final (due Finals week, no late work accepted). It will be a
completed and updated version of all of your major projects from the quarter, as well as a reflection.
• **NOTE: All work must be submitted through Canvas. They will not be accepted via email. Keep copies of
your work until after the quarter is over or until I’ve graded them, just for peace of mind. It is everyone’s
responsibility to check Canvas and your email daily for course information and updates. Remember that
Highline’s official channel of communication with students is the Highline Student Email account. You
should regularly check your Canvas Inbox, Highline email, and Canvas Announcements for the most up-to-
date information.
Late Work
Everything will be due Sundays at 11:59pm for that given week for full credit. However, I will leave the assignment
unlocked until Monday at 11:59 pm (24 hours after) for half credit if you would like to submit late! Canvas will
automatically grant you half points after Sunday.
If you have a significant life event emerge and/or a barrier between you and submitting work on time (an illness, an
family emergency, etc), we can work together on an extended deadline if you let me know BEFORE the due date that
you will be submitting late and request a reasonable make-up timeline.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Below is a general overview of how our weeks will unfold and how our projects will be paced. For a much more
detailed breakdown of our projects/assignments per week, check out our Module page on Canvas!
Week One: Intro to Professionalization and Email
Week Two: Job Search
Week Three: Intro to Resumes
Week Four: Building YOUR Resume
Week Five: Cover Letter
Week Six: Intro to Job Interviews
Week Seven: Interview Questions and Practice
Week Eight: Mock Interviews
Week Nine: Thank You Letters and Interview Follow-Up
Week Ten: Social Media
FINAL WEEK: Final Portfolio Due to Canvas Wednesday 11:59pm
HOW TO SUCCEED
I want each one of you to feel confident, engaged, and successful in this course! You’re all welcome here and
absolutely belong. As students, you will thrive in this course by staying up to date with Canvas, putting forth genuine
engagement and academic honesty, keeping an open line of communication with me as needed, and giving yourself
enough time to complete our assignments.
Since this is a 3-credit course, you can expect to dedicate ample time to watching lectures, reading, writing,
completing quizzes/worksheets, watching videos, etc. throughout the week. I encourage you to look over everything
that is due on Sunday on Monday morning (right when it opens) to best pace out this week. To be successful in this
course, you’ll need to know how to prioritize and time manage. Do not wait until the last minute to begin!