Over 450 students from 12 high schools across San Diego gathered in the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park to hear about the industries that make San Diego an attraction to over 35 million tourists a year and learn how they can make their first steps into hospitality careers.  

For the 25th year, the California Restaurant Association, San Diego Chapter held its annual High School Hospitality Conference on Tuesday, March 14, for high school students in hospitality and culinary Career Technical Education (CTE) programs. These industries are growing and there are ample opportunities for young people who just need to be shown where to start and what can be accomplished. 

Tours of hotels and restaurants were organized for students to explore different career paths and meet with industry professionals. Students also visited hospitality and culinary business tables across the conference site as part of the “Cooking up Success in the Hospitality Industry” segment.   

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) was a sponsor of the high school conference as a continuation of over two decades of support that we have provided to the California Restaurant Association.  SDG&E Vice President of Gas Operations Tashonda Taylor also serves on the California Restaurant Association, San Diego Chapter board.  In 2022, SDG&E helped fund the CRA Restaurant Resilience Fund that provided grants to over 300 independent restaurants along with one year of support services. 

“SDG&E recognizes the important role this conference plays in providing stable, accessible, job experiences to students in San Diego, and in helping our region meet its workforce needs,” remarked SDG&E Community Relations Advisor Connie Cepeda, who was also invited to speak at the opening of the conference. “We thank the California Restaurant Association for hosting us today and for connecting more students with the essential job opportunities that make San Diego such a sought-after travel destination and the most ideal place to live.”  

We were glad to support today’s conference, alongside our partners: the San Diego Chapter of the California Restaurant Association, San Diego Unified School District, Sweetwater Union High School District and the San Diego County Lodging Association.