Bradley students were invited to take a ride April 10 as part of a unique speaker event.
Six Flags Great America Park President Hank Salemi visited Bradley to speak to students about the history and inner-workings of the organization.
Junior hospitality leadership major Mark Wagner planned the event after he was assigned a class project to design something that would raise awareness of the hospitality industry around campus.
“Since everyone knows about the Six Flags chain, I thought bringing down the president of a theme park would cater to a lot of people’s interest and attract many types of different students,” Wagner said.
While Wagner was in charge of planning, Bradley’s hospitality leadership group Fresh Slice co-sponsored the event.
“With the amount of time — around a month — that I had to actually execute the event along with the many other events going on that day, I was pleased [with the student turnout],” he said. “There were probably close to 55 to 65 people at the event. It was nice to see a more diverse group of students.”
Considering most park presidents are very involved in their work and their business, the event was a unique opportunity for students, according to Wagner.
“Park presidents are very tucked away, so it’s truly an honor when they devote time out of their own lives to come down to speak to a group of students about their career,” Wagner said.
Wagner said he was able to learn a lot more about Six Flags even though he interned for the park last summer.
“It was great to hear about new additions at the park such as the Goliath, the world’s largest wooden roller coaster,” he said.
The Goliath will break three wooden roller coaster world records — it will have the longest drop at 180 feet, steepest drop at 85 degrees and fastest speed at 72 miles per hour. The coaster also features two inversions. It is set to debut this May.
“A lot of people say El Toro [the rollercoaster] is the best in the world, but this ride is going to blow El Toro away,” Salemi said.
