The new general manager of the Albany Marriott Hotel got his start at the hotel 17 years ago as a student taking part in work-based learning through the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center.
Mahendradat Mangroo recently took the helm of the Wolf Road establishment after climbing the hospitality industry career ladder.
Mangroo said he has always had a passion for the industry but confirmed that passion as a student at BOCES and confirmed that the hospitality industry was a right fit.
“I thought of the industry as being a cool industry because of the hotels and travel. Being hands-on in the work through BOCES taught me so much more and confirmed for me that this was a career I wanted to pursue,” he said during a recent interview.
“BOCES allowed me to try it and know what I wanted to do before going into it.”
Mangroo is a 2007 graduate of Schenectady High School and BOCES. He went on to attend Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality Management.
He held a variety of positions in several hotel operations before returning to the Albany Marriott in August 2023.
“This is where I got my start – it was sort of surreal to come back,” he said.
Mangroo said attending BOCES benefited him tremendously.
“BOCES helped my career in many ways, however the most important takeaway was the different experiences it gave me. The hands-on internship, the real-time job in the field, working behind the scenes of a teacher who cared ⦗the late Chris D’Alessandro⦘, participating in competitions and winning first place in the New York State SkillsUSA competition,” he said.
“Attending BOCES gave me an opportunity to understand an industry that I knew very little about and showed me this is something I would like to advance in.”
Enrollment is currently underway for the 2024-25 school year. For more information on career and technical programs, go to https://www.capitalregionboces.org/career-technical-education/courses-programs/.