Every year, Florida International University’s (FIU) Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management awards 18 of their top alumni with the Rising Star Awards during a ceremony on campus. The alumni reunion takes place once a year and celebrates alumni who graduated after the year 2000. The Rising Star Award recognizes alumni who are top in their field in every aspect of the hospitality and tourism industry, from Beverage Management, to Hotel Management to Cruise Management and Restaurant Ownership and Operations. The Rising Star Awards, which started in 2019, also resulted in the school’s first official alumni reunion on campus. FIU Chaplin School grads who are honored and their families gather at the Biscayne Bay Campus.