Sage Perez

Kelly Simmons

Perez, originally from St. Simon Island, Ga., poses in the lobby of the WaterColor Inn in Santa Rosa Beach, Fl., during her management training.
Submitted photo

Working the front desk at the UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel as a student set the stage for Sage Perez’s career in hospitality.

Interacting with guests and meeting people from all over the world kept the job interesting, Perez says.

She warmly remembers two guests, a father and son from England, in Athens for the first time to tour the University of Georgia. When they asked for restaurant recommendations, Perez mentioned several of her favorites, including the Last Resort, with its decadent cheesecake.

“Oh, we have to go there,” the father says. The next morning, they gifted Perez with a slice of cheesecake to thank her for the recommendation.

Interactions like that “confirmed I really did like working with guests rather than behind the scenes,” she says. “The front desk experience really set me up for what I’m doing now.”

After graduating UGA in May 2024 with a degree in Hospitality and Food Industry Management (HFIM), Perez moved to the Florida Panhandle for a management training program at the WaterColor Inn in Santa Rosa Beach. The 18-month program includes several months each in housekeeping, at the front desk, in food and beverage, and at the corporate headquarters of the St. Joe Company, a private real estate developer in Panama City Beach that manages a number of properties along the Gulf Coast.

A native of St. Simons Island, Ga., Perez entered UGA as a freshman majoring in biology. But after her first biology class, she looked for something she would enjoy more.

“I landed on hospitality, took the intro course and never looked back,” she says.
Students ahead of her in the program taught her Georgia Center protocol and how to better interact with guests, she says. During an internship in Sales and Events she learned some of the ways the Georgia Center remains competitive with the many hotels now in the Athens area.

During her management training at the WaterColor Inn, Perez plans to build on her experiences at UGA to determine the hospitality career track best suited to her interests.

I’m trying to grab every experience I can in every department.