-= NMSU PANORAMA - Summer 2006 =- Aggie Whirl: Spa supervisor prepared for career at NMSU

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Spa supervisor prepared for career at NMSU

By Darrell J. Pehr

Marlene Allen McConlogue

From world-famous Colorado ski areas to the luxurious Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa at Santa Ana Pueblo north of Albuquerque, NMSU alumna Marlene Allen McConlogue’s career is off to a good start.McConlogue, of Sapello, N.M., graduated in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in hotel, restaurant and tourism management.

“I feel that the education I received was great,” she says. “I was very prepared.”

McConlogue had an internship at Keystone Resorts in Keystone, Colo. She worked as an international leadership consultant for Zeta Tau Alpha fraternity, traveling to college campuses across the U.S., then joined the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque Downtown, where she worked in front office and human resources positions. She spent a year in sales and marketing for the New Mexico Scorpions hockey team while still working for Hyatt, then transferred to the Hyatt Regency Tamaya in 2004 where she is the spa supervisor and group reservation coordinator, supervising about 30 employees.

While the pace at a hotel front desk can be brisk, the spa atmosphere is more relaxed, which McConlogue enjoys.

“People come to enjoy themselves,” McConlogue says. “It’s one part of the hotel that’s a lot more laid back.”

As supervisor, McConlogue is responsible for making sure everything runs smoothly, from handling the payroll to scheduling massages, facials and body treatments.

“It’s still very service-oriented,” she says. “We must be well-organized and good communication is very important.”

The NMSU graduate is glad her career path led to the Hyatt Corporation.

“I think they are a great company,” McConlogue says. “They have great benefits; they treat their employees well.”

McConlogue is a 1997 graduate of Robertson High School in Las Vegas, N.M. Her father, cattle rancher Fred W. Allen, graduated from NMSU in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in animal science. McConlogue, who was heavily involved in 4-H as a child, became familiar with NMSU during state 4-H events and through a summer program at NMSU for high school students.

She was impressed with the close-knit feeling at NMSU. “You couldn’t walk down the mall to the ag college without seeing 100 people you knew,” she says. “I had lots of fun.”

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