The Philippus Miller III Endowments
Established November 8, 2019
The Philippus Miller III Legacy Endowment
This endowment is designed to recognize and celebrate Phil’s legacy as a builder of networks and relationships. Phil was the heart of our one-of-a-kind global alumni family that is the foundation of the Cornell Hotel Society. Successful applicants should demonstrate an understanding of the spirit of Phil Miller, the importance of connecting and giving back (financial need is not a criterion).
The purpose is to provide one or more Hotel School students, typically in their junior year, an opportunity to attend one of the several major CHS events held around the world. The grant is intended to offset the costs of travel, lodging and event registration so that recipients can fully engage with alumni and other attendees.
Recipients will be assigned an alumni mentor while they are attending the event who will be responsible to help introduce them to other alumni (as well as get to know them). In much the same way that Phil did for years at these events. These students will then return to campus and share their experience and contacts with other student hotelies at an appropriate CHS Collegiate Chapter sponsored event.
Most importantly, these awards are not necessarily meant to reward Super Star students far along their path to success. But rather the application process and selection criteria will seek to find students, who like Phil, embrace the Hotelie for Life®️ spirit and are the type of student that would have benefited from Phil’s helping hand. The selection committee will comprise SHA Faculty, Staff, Alumni and CHS representation.
We believe this effort will help preserve Phil’s legacy in several ways, including:
- Get to know Phil Miller, why was he so influential, how did he touch so many lives?
- Give students an opportunity to develop new friendships with CHS alumni and their own classmates, learn the importance of helping others and paying it forward.
- Understand the importance of CHS and what it means to be a Hotelie for Life®️. Further learn how they can benefit from it AND how they can play an active role in expanding and maintaining the world-wide connections amongst Hotelies.
- Pass on Phil’s legacy of deep-rooted values of service to the generations to come. The recipients of these awards become part of the Phil Legacy.
- Phil was about “Friend-Raising”. The hope is that this effort will embrace and facilitate the relationship needs of people.
We urge you to support the The Philippus Miller III Legacy Endowment.
This Endowment Fund was established with a goal to receive gifts totaling at least $187,500 within five years. In making this commitment, the Endowment qualifies for $62,500 in matching funds bringing the total Fund to at least $250,000. Annual returns from the Fund will be used to cover the expenses with any remainder being reinvested in the Fund.
We encourage you to generously support this Endowment and to help keep Phil’s legacy alive for generations of Hotelies to come.
Recipients
2020 – LEGACY WINNERS
Alice Navadeh ’21
& Colette Repisky ’22
2022 – LEGACY WINNER
Caleb Trieu ’23
2022 – LEGACY WINNER
Jason Ling ’23
2022 – LEGACY WINNER
Hailey Nelson ’23
2023 – LEGACY WINNER
Christina Gioioso ’24
2024 – LEGACY WINNER
Camryn Scott’25
2024 – LEGACY WINNER
Cynthia Saldana ’25
2024 – LEGACY WINNER
Catherine Ching ’26
The Philippus Miller III Hotelie for Life Endowment
In 2017, the Cornell Hotel Society and the Cornell Hotel Society Foundation jointly assumed the sponsorship of the former Joseph Drown Special Prize previously supported by The Joseph Drown Foundation that was established in 1953.
In its current form, this special prize is awarded to graduating seniors in the School of Hotel Administration. One senior recipient will be selected to receive a $5,000 cash prize and will address that year’s graduating class at the Hotel School Commencement ceremony in May. Semi-finalists will also receive a monetary award of $1000. All finalists are also awarded a Life-Time Membership in the Cornell Hotel Society and are asked to serve as ambassadors for CHS as they pursue their respective careers.
Finalists must be able to participate in the required on-campus interview in the fall, and the award ceremony luncheon with the Dean of the Hotel School in May. The students are also showcased during the CHS Membership Meeting at HEC in March.
The general criteria for the prize include:
- Academic Standing
- Co-curricular activities
- Work/Internship experience
- Dedication to school and industry objectives
- Faculty and Employer recommendations
- Interview
The student selected should be “the best all-around student for that year.” The ideal winner is described as “the student who is not necessarily the most visible and well known, but one who best demonstrates and embraces what it means to be a Hotelie for Life”.
As we all know, Phil was the ultimate Hotelie. He was generous, kind, a great connector of people, and genuine. In the spirit of Phil’s legacy, CHS and the CHS Foundation have officially re-named this very special award in his honor.
To preserve the ability to award this prize indefinitely in Phil’s name, we have created the
The Philippus Miller Hotelie for Life Prize Endowment
This Endowment Fund was established with a goal to receive gifts totaling at least $187,500 within five years. In making this commitment, the Endowment qualifies for $62,500 in matching funds bringing the total Fund to at least $250,000. Annual returns from the Fund will be targeted to cover the prize expenses with any remainder being reinvested in the Fund.
We encourage you to generously support this Endowment and to help keep Phil’s legacy alive for generations of Hotelies to come.
Recipients
2020
HOTELIE FOR LIFE WINNER
Chloe Jones ’20
2021
HOTELIE FOR LIFE WINNER
JT Baker ’21
2022
HOTELIE FOR LIFE WINNER
Ben Nelson ’22
2023
HOTELIE FOR LIFE WINNER
Emily Michaels ’23
CONTRIBUTE DIRECTLY THROUGH CHS
Please make your gift, large or small, directly to the Cornell Hotel Society by clicking on the following link. CHS will distribute these contributions to the endowments to ensure that the requirements for the matching funds are met. Please note that gifts to CHS will not be recognized as gifts to Cornell University.
Donations by check should be made payable to:
“Cornell Hotel Society”
and sent to:
Cornell Hotel Society
P.O. Box 440
Vienna, VA 22183
Questions?
Contact Susan at susan@cornellhotelsociety.com
CONTRIBUTE THROUGH CORNELL UNIVERSITY
If you prefer to make a gift through the University, you can use the link below. On the Cornell University website it will be important to indicate where to direct your contribution.
- Select “Click here to make your selections”
- Search “hotel”
- Select “Other – Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration”
In the next step, there will be a box to enter special instructions. This is where you will need to specify one of the two endowments.
The Philippus Miller III Legacy Endowment and/or The Philippus Miller Hotelie for Life Prize.
Please contact susan@cornellhotelsociety.com if you have any questions.
Donations by check should be made payable to:
“Cornell University”
and sent to:
Cornell University
Box 37334
Boone, IA 50037-0334
It is important that the memo line of your check include the name of the endowment.
The Philippus Miller III Legacy Endowment and/or The Philippus Miller Hotelie for Life Prize.
We urge you to consider making contributions to both endowments. Contributions made through Cornell University to these endowments will be recognized as gifts to the University and eligible for Tower Club status, etc.
