Deborah Spear Castillo, ’83, certainly knows what it’s like to climb the corporate ladder, not to mention the world of five-star travel.

In the summer of 2010, she was named vice president of hotel sales for Loews Hotels, one of the country’s top luxury lodging companies with 19 hotels located in the United States and Canada.

Castillo, who joined Loews in 1999 and has more than 24 years of industry experience, will now focus her efforts on sales, advertising, public relations and revenue management for hotels on the East Coast and Canada.

That will be a big task, especially as the recession continues to affect hotel companies like Loews.

“Managing through this economic downturn has been the most difficult time of my career,” she said. “The travel and tourism industry has been impacted by the recession, with some of our hotels having been hit harder than others, depending on the destination, but all have been affected one way or another.”

At first, Castillo thought the current recession would be similar to the one after 9/11, and the industry would rebound within a year or so. But as time went on, it became clear that the road to full economic recovery would be longer than expected.

“We do see positive change (in the past quarter of 2010), and we are optimistic for 2011,” Castillo said.

She’s excited about the challenges of the new position and considers it the highlight of her career.

“Besides getting to stay in some great hotels, I enjoy going to work every day and getting to work with some terrific people,” she said. “Also, I have an opportunity to meet interesting people.”

In fact, from the very start of Castillo’s career, she’s been bumping elbows with celebrities, including Shaquille O’Neal, Billy Joel, Martha Stewart, Emeril Lagasse and George Harrison, to name a few.

Another perk of the job includes the travel from one luxury hotel to the next. “While I am based out of the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in South Beach, I travel to our home office in New York on a regular basis,” she said.

Castillo graduated from Flagler College uncertain about her plans. But after holding a customer service position in Palm Coast, Fla., she moved on into the hotel industry, first with Sheraton and later to Loews in Miami, where the company credits her with the successful relaunch the Loews Miami Beach Hotel after a $50 million renovation.

“Debbie has done a tremendous job for Loews Hotels throughout the years, guiding the marketing efforts of her regional hotels, as well as leading Loews Hotels International effort,” said Felicia Fisher, senior vice president sales and strategic planning at Loews Hotels. “As Vice President of Hotel Sales her expertise will be a vital part of developing and executing our company’s sales and marketing initiatives.”

Meyer graduated from Flagler with a degree in sport management. He now works as a performance coach and will be opening The B Meyer Training Systems, an education-based performance gym in Altamonte Springs, Fla., this summer. 

On top of that, Meyer has been Howard’s performance coach for the past four years; he’s also trained Olympic figure skater Patrick Chan, elite BMX racer Randall Neave and Los Angeles Angels minor league baseball player Tyson Auer.

“Training high-level athletes is what most people consider or want to talk about, but making a difference and creating relationships is the best part of my job,” he said. “Making a difference to the youth and helping them reach their potential is what I enjoy most about my career.”

Exercising words of wisdom from Bryan Meyer:

• Not all of us want to or can be professional athletes, but we can improve our performance for life with small changes each week. Try to make it a lifestyle and do something every day.
• There is no one best exercise or pill you can take. As a general rule, vary your program every few weeks and always ask questions of people you value in the field.
• Machines are great to focus on certain muscles, but try to add body weight and movement training to your program.
• Performance training is very different from general fitness, but I train my general population to be better prepared for life and treat them as athletes. The mom or dad client isn’t going to go through the same program as Dwight Howard, but will work on improving deceleration and overall strength just as Dwight does – just on a different level.

After hitting the hard reality of post-graduation debt, alumnus Logan Abrams, ‘03, decided he would not only figure out how to manage the financial burden, but also write about its impact.

“Debt-U: How Higher Education Breeds a Lifestyle of Debt” is Abrams’ attempt to make sense of how college students are racking up debt without even realizing it.

Abrams’ interest in the subject of debt and finance started in college when he realized he and his classmates had no personal finance education throughout high school. Abrams, like most college students, was making financial decisions without understanding the consequences of his actions.

“I realized that although we could balance the books for a Fortune 500 company, most of the students probably couldn’t balance their checkbooks,” he said.

According to Abrams’ “Debt-U,” the average rise in college tuition over the past 10 years is more than 100 percent.

“As demand increases, so does the price,” he said.

Although Flagler’s tuition compares at less than half of the national average, some students will still get burdened with loans. Abrams’ advice starts with just understanding what you are doing. 

He also says students should work during school, not only to keep the debt levels down, but also for the work experience. 

“It will pay dividends in the future,” he said.

He also suggests staying away from private loans if possible. Stick with government-backed loans, he said.

“But my main advice in the book is for students to live cheap! Be poor! It is the best opportunity in your life to not spend a lot of money,” he said. “And it will help your financial future possibly more than anything else in college.”

Abrams said the biggest stressor for students coming out of college is how they cope with their massive student loans and credit card debt. This stress is known as Post Graduation Stress Disorder, and it is affecting more college grads every day.

“Some of the symptoms include financial- or debt-related stress or depression, feeling of inadequacy, hopelessness or anxiety related to debt bills or personal finance,” he said. “It also relates to not getting the job ‘promised’ or expected coming out of college.” 

What advice does Abrams have for alumni dealing with similar problems? 

“Understanding that it will take a long time to become financially independent, and hard work and financial responsibility are going to be difficult,” he said. “There is no quick, easy answer.”

Read More: Debt-U.com
Buy the Book: “Debt-U”

For St. Augustine native Mark Bailey Jr., ‘08, it was a huge jump from his small hometown to Hollywood.

But that leap of faith has paid off for the alumnus, who is now a production assistant on Fox’s hit show “Glee” and working at Paramount Pictures.

“The Paramount Pictures lot is without a doubt the coolest lot in L.A. So many shows and movies shoot here: ‘The Doctors,’ ‘Dr. Phil,’ ‘Community’ and ‘Hung,’ just to name a few,” Bailey said. “You’ll be randomly walking around the lot and you’ll see Joel McHale (‘The Soup,’ ‘Community’) walk right by you, or you’ll see Dr. Travis Stork (‘The Doctors’) just hanging outside of the commissary.”

Bailey heard about the position from a close friend in the business and landed an interview. His daily responsibilities include the production and distribution of scripts, schedules and anything else the office might need on a given shift — which can be as long as 15 or 16 hours.

“No two days are ever the same, which is the biggest reason why I love my job as much as I do,” he said.

Bailey said he has always dreamed of moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the film industry.

“The fact that it’s all a reality now, really blows my mind,” he said. “I started working with ‘Glee’ in December of 2009.

Bailey, a communication major in the broadcast track, started in radio while still in college. He spent four years as on-air talent on WAPE 95.1 FM in Jacksonville.
But as graduation rolled around, he had to decide whether to pursue broadcasting in Jacksonville or to give Hollywood a shot.

“Turns out that it [leaving for Hollywood] was the best move I could have made,” he said.

Bailey is already having success in working with industry professionals he has long admired.

“One of my favorite shows back in high school and college was ‘Nip/Tuck,’” he said. “I really liked how edgy the creator, Ryan Murphy, was with his writing and the way he directed many of the episodes. Mr. Murphy is one of the creators of ‘Glee,’ and I must say, it’s very cool to see him work his magic.”

Bailey says he has grown professionally as well. Still, it’s hard to ignore his good fortune.

“What I’ve learned so far is this business can be a fickle one,” he said. “So to hop on a show that’s doing so well and has garnered so much attention — let’s just say that I thank my lucky stars every night before I go to bed.”

For Flagler alumnus Clark McCarthy-Miller, ‘08, being a producer’s assistant has meant working on miscellaneous commercials, small movies and television shows. But that all changed when a friend set him up on an interview with a family that would change his life — the now infamous Gosselins, stars of TLC’s reality show, “Jon and Kate Plus Eight.”

After interviewing for the position with four others, the Gosselins handpicked him to work on the show. McCarthy-Miller could be seen on the show’s highest-rated season four opener where he helped the Gosselin family prepare for a birthday bash for the sextuplets.

The Gosselins’ bitter divorce recently brought “Jon and Kate” — which followed the family of one set of twins and younger sextuplets — from popular cable show to tabloid fodder. McCarthy-Miller went along for the ride until the show ended this past fall.

“While I was in communication classes (at Flagler), I was daydreaming about working on movies mainly and didn’t really consider how much I would love television,” he said. “But working on this show and a few other shows here and there, I have really fallen in love with television production.”

His daily tasks included anything that needed to be done to get the show on the air, including running to the airport or loading up the work van. He also took notes about certain shots or scenes that later could be helpful in the editing room.

“It is important that we stay on our game the whole time we are there because there are usually a million things going on at once with eight kids running around,” he said. “The kids are so cute, it is impossible to put into words. Every time I see them, they seem to amaze me in a different way. Seeing them grow up in front of you is incredible.”

The season premiere also included shots of the paparazzi preying on the Gosselins, and McCarthy-Miller was often called and harassed for leaks about Jon and Kate.

“When I started working on the show it was already popular, but didn’t have as much buzz as it does now,” he said. “It has been a real privilege working on a show that has been in the public spotlight for quite some time now.”

But McCarthy-Miller says all the extra attention didn’t really affect his day-to-day routine all that much.

“It is strange to see yourself in magazines, but it really doesn’t affect the work,” he said.