Dr. Noto discusses her niche for educating students in the hospitality management program

Dr. Quantella Noto is an assistant professor and the hospitality management director at Southeast Missouri State University. Since being under Noto’s leadership the hospitality management program enrollment has increased more than 189 percent. Noto also is the primary adviser for the student-run coffee bar inside of Catapult Creative House called Fuel, she is on the community board at KRCU, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, is an author and former restaurant owner.

“When you can sit around the table with people, understand what’s going on, can question some things and doing it not because someone asked you but because it means something to you, you found your niche,” Dr. Quantella Noto said.

What made you want to get into hospitality management?

From an early age I’ve always had a passion for hotels and restaurants. I actually created my own little restaurant in my basement in elementary school with my Easy-Bake Oven. I have five sisters, I’m the youngest of six girls, so I would sell to them.

I’ve always been fascinated with travel, hotels and tourism in particular. I really wanted to start doing that earlier and I got a little sidetracked, so instead I had a career in investment banking. I was an underwriter for investment banking firms for several years.

What I did was hospitality-related transactions such as stadiums and convention centers. That’s when I decided that what I was doing wasn’t interesting and exciting and wasn’t where my passion was, which is hospitality.

What do you enjoy about what you do and how do you stay motivated?

I’m doing what I love, which is education. Teaching about hospitality is obviously different from being in it. I found out after coming into education that I’m making a difference in some students’ lives helping them find their passion and get their careers started. Watching the growth that students have when I meet them as a freshman and seeing the light come on for them over the years. They end up doing fabulous things with their lives and I know that I somehow participated in that. That’s really what keeps me going every day.

What made you want to be so involved in the community, and why is it important to you?

I’m an extrovert. I just have that personality and that nature in me. I like to know people and information. I’ve always found knowledge to be power, and so the more I got involved in the community the more people I met and the more I knew. I started when I was in investment banking. It’s a very male-dominated field, so the more I knew and the more I was involved the more it felt like a level playing field.

If I didn’t get involved into so many things in Cape I would not be able to recommend students for jobs. I wouldn’t be able to help them find scholarships.

Also, part of it was my path and avenue to really empowering myself a little bit more. My life became all work and family, which is great. But the community work that I do allows me another avenue to meet people and to gain a lot of knowledge.

How did you know when to say yes and when to say no, how did you find your niche?

Sometimes I got caught up in saying yes because someone asked me and because I was flattered. That’s OK. But you don’t have to say yes to every little thing. Selectively choose what matters to you, what you are passionate about, what you keep talking about, what you read about and what you gravitate to. That’s when you know it’s genuine and real. Some people already know what their niche is, they just may not know where to find the place to implement it and to grow it. You start to know it when you get into it, sometimes it’s just a matter of luck, being in the right place at the right time and following up on it.

What’s next for Dr. Quantella Noto?

I’m always looking to get involved in other things. One of the things I would like to accomplish is writing a novel or two. I have a real interest in culinary history and lodging history. I plan to do some more research on these subjects, most likely from the African-American perspective. I’m always open to other organizations when it seems like I can contribute. I image that I’ll be an educator for the rest of my life. What I’ve learned for sure is you never know what the future holds.