Danny Bamboat, already popular with his fellow students because of this famous smile, was hired full-time as bellman for the Laurel Point Inn. On his way now in the industry of his choice, he's also getting paid for the grin. ____________

by Margaret Doyle
internship and industry relations coordinator
School of Tourism and Hospitality Management

Twenty-eight BA students in RRU's international hotel management program launched their internships in early July with grand hopes, mixed in with a little trepidation and anxiety, as they began their course work in the field.

After all, Yatan Nizzar was travelling to a remote mountain resort in Vietnam called the Topaz Ecolodge while on the other side of the globe, Brooke Billsborough was setting out for the busy metropolis of London, with an internship at the prestigious Langham Hotel.

Hassan Shokil and Kellan Mckeen chose to go to Aleenta Resorts in Thailand where they also taught English and played soccer with the locals in their spare time.

Other international locations included the Grand Hyatt in Taipei and the Grand Copthorne in Singapore.

Many interns also stayed in Canada, finding great opportunities in Alberta, B.C. and Yukon with companies such as Coast Hotels and Resorts, Bellstar Hotels and Resorts, Tourism Rossland, Four Seasons, Fairmont, La Soleil, Wedgewood Hotel and Spa, the new Shangri-La in downtown Vancouver and the Best Western in Whitehorse.

Many interns also stayed in Canada, finding great opportunities in Alberta, B.C. and Yukon, Laura Gibbons, for example, completed an exciting internship at the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver. ____________

During their internship, the students were evaluated by both their school instructor and their work supervisor in order to assess how their experience and performance on the job was going.

Reports from host properties were positive

This year, we had overwhelmingly positive reports from our host properties which happily affirm RRU's commitment to the internship component of its BA in International Hotel Management degree.

One of the required – and fun – assignments involved having the interns describe a typical day, from dawn to dusk. Each student either blogged or created slides for their Day in the Life and these can now be enjoyed on the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management blog.

During the student’s internships, a remarkable thing happens. Between the devil-may-care attitudes at the end of their academic year to the polished, professional greeting you see at the end of the internship, a new maturity and understanding emerges – a transformation that only working in the field can bring.

Learning shoulder to shoulder with other professionals, being mentored by seasoned executives and acquiring on the job skills is why our interns come out the other end with job offers.

Kellan Mckeen chose to go to Aleenta Resorts in Thailand where she also taught English and played soccer with the locals in her spare time. __________

Drawing on their education in the classroom and applying it in the workplace is what makes the transformation complete for these interns.

____________

Each intern blogged or created slides illustrating their working day from dawn to dusk and these can be enjoyed on the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management blog.

____________

Closer to home, our students also found internships at the Fairmont Empress, Sheraton Four Points, Laurel Point Inn, and the Rosewood Inn.

One of our interns, Danny Bamboat, has recently been hired full-time as bellman for the Laurel Point Inn. We were really happy to hear this as throughout the year Danny’s famous smile was loved by everyone. Now he can get paid for it.