Scholarship Awarded: Hospitality Scholarship – Vancouver Community College

Sponsor: BC Hotel Association

Let me tell you a little about myself, just so you can know how I grew up. I was born and raised in the Middle East, in a country called Kuwait. Both my parents are Filipino, and moved there about 30 years ago, so I grew up with a completely different culture.

When I came here to Canada in 2019, after graduating High School, I went to a first college to take a one-year program on leadership, and VCC was my second. It’s a funny story how I came to this college because the program was chosen for me by a close friend of my father’s, and he said it really suited me.

When I first heard about the program, the word “hospitality” made me think about “hospitals”, so I wasn’t that excited…but when I started to look at the courses within the program, I was surprised to see I would learn about Tourism, Restaurant Operations, Principles of Service Management and many more. I said, “No way! I’m actually interested in these courses!”

It is an honor and privilege to be sponsored by the BC Hospitality Foundation. Thank you for your support for students and workers throughout the years who are transitioning and are a part of the world of hospitality. May you continue to help and impact the lives of these future leaders.