From Jamaica to Columbus: How AI in Hospitality Education Is Driving Innovation in Appalachia

NELSONVILLE, OHIO - When Eladio Vassell stepped off the bus in southeastern Ohio on January 6, 2022, his world transformed from Caribbean warmth to a blanket of white snow. 

"When I stepped off the bus, it was all white," he recalls with a laugh, his Jamaican accent still rich and warm despite two years in Appalachia. "Well, I'm not new to snow because I studied in Canada before, so I really enjoyed it. It was cool – coming from the tropics, very, very cool."

The son of a successful hotelier who manages the prestigious Coco La Palm Resort in Negril – "the finest hotel on the strip," as Vassell proudly notes – he had left behind a thriving career in Jamaica's hospitality sector. 

His father's 106-room European-plan hotel stood as a testament to excellence in Caribbean hospitality, different from the all-inclusive resorts that dominate the region. Eladio Vassell came to the U.S. looking for a way to level himself up and keep learning. 

What began as a one-year culinary program at Hocking College where he started as a student has now evolved into much more. 

Within two years, Vassell finished his program as a student.

Hocking College was so impressed with him that they asked him to stay - not as a student, but as a staffer, a professor - no less.

He has since received two promotions, and is now the Dean of General Studies, Arts & Sciences and Lifestyle Careers. 

He now oversees about 70 students in hospitality-related programs, many of them first-generation college students navigating the complexities of higher education.

But it's Vassell's embrace of artificial intelligence that truly sets him apart in the realm of hospitality education. 

"When we first learned about artificial intelligence, it was quite a while back, but I didn't have the slightest clue that I would be so close to the technology," he reflects. As part of Hocking College's second cohort of AI training facilitated by Ai Owl  with Intel’s digital readiness curriculum, Vassell discovered the transformative potential of this technology.

"I had students who were using AI and I wasn't using AI, so I wanted to find out what is this ChatGPT or Copilot," he explains. 

Now, he's integrated AI into nearly every aspect of his work. "I'm pulling my reports from Toast and dumping them into my chatbot that I've created," he describes enthusiastically. "I ask chat to analyze these reports for me, identify what are my cash flows, identify what are my items on my menu that need to be revamped, and identify for me what times are most of my customers coming in."

Pursuing his Doctorate in Business Administration at Franklin University, Vassell's dissertation focuses on "productivity versus ethical transparency and trust issues" in AI. He's become an advocate for thoughtful AI integration in education, pushing back against those who see it merely as a tool for plagiarism.

"Many educators in higher education see AI as only a tool for plagiarism,” he said. "But if we're able to sort of create those guardrails in terms of the uses of the information, algorithmic biases and stuff like that, then we should be able to win over more educators to start to utilize AI services."

His vision extends beyond the classroom and back to Jamaica. Vassell is exploring ways to integrate AI into agricultural operations, reminiscing about his past experience farming watermelons in Jamaica. 

"When I do – it's not a matter of if, but when I do go back to Jamaica, that's what I would definitely be focusing on," he says, describing plans for AI-powered irrigation systems and soil monitoring.

The transformation of Jamaica's agricultural sector particularly excites him. "Our friends right now are in consultation with the government of taking over some of those lands," he explains, referring to former sugar cane fields. "And all they're going to be doing is agriculture, and they're going to be focusing on modern agriculture. So we're looking at greenhouses, we're looking at vertical farms, we're looking at fully automated systems that could be run simply utilizing artificial intelligence."

In the end, Vassell's journey represents more than just a geographical transition from Jamaica to Ohio. It embodies the bridge between traditional hospitality wisdom and cutting-edge technology, between Caribbean innovation and Appalachian determination. As he puts it, "It is phenomenal... the possibilities are endless."

Standing in an office at Hocking College, overlooking the hills of southeastern Ohio, Vassell represents a new breed of hospitality educator – one who sees AI not as a threat but as a partner in preparing the next generation for an increasingly automated world. His story continues to unfold, writing new chapters in the intersection of hospitality, education, and artificial intelligence.