Advice for our graduates, 2012 ? Hotel Management, Business ...

Graduation ceremonies bring everyone together; staff, students, past and present, and of course graduates of the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School. For me it is an opportunity to welcome new graduates into our alumni. It is always interesting to guess as to which students will find successes and where. My success story in this blog and the guest speaker at the graduation ceremony held on 3 August 2012 is Dr Juvanka Roberts. ?

Her title speaks instantly of the highest level of academic achievement she has received. Juvanka currently works as an e-learning specialist combining every skill she has learnt right from hotel school, to her PhD.

As part of her undergraduate degree, Juvanka took IT as an elective, which sparked her interest and led her undertake a Masters in Information Systems. Upon completion, she was actively looking for hospitality related jobs where she could use all her skills in human resources, management, technology and teaching.

Juvanka said ?it was then that I decided to challenge myself enrolling in a doctorate program where I researched the creation of learning societies by adapting the educational system to match e-learners profiles. It involved finding ways and means of making e-learning courses more learner centric by customising them to learner?s individual personalities.?

Juvanka gave the graduates some good advice??believe that even if you are 100% clear about the career path you want to take, you should not let the fact that you?ve graduated from a hotel school limit your options.

Think outside the box.?

She continued . . . ?employers hire you for your attitude and train you on your aptitude, so good social and communication skills are key along with personality and a can-do, positive attitude. I hate to generalise but in how many other professions do you see staff or management smiling under pressure??

Skills learnt in hospitality ? such as working with people, teamwork, sales and problem solving ? are the foundation skills for any successful career. As well as being a people-oriented industry, hospitality is creative. You are creating a product ? be that food, drink, or an experience ? and there?s always scope to dream up new ways of making it more enjoyable for your customers. It is this very unique mix of skills and knowledge that makes each of you a valuable asset

As a graduate of Blue Mountains you are part of a global network of thousands of alumni worldwide found in some of the highest positions in the industry and other fields. This network is one of the most accomplished groups of alumni in the hospitality industry. Networks are vital in developing your career. Use this wonderful resource that has been handed to you, take advantage of it and stay active at the center of this shared mission. As alumni, we stand ready to help you as fellow graduates of this wonderful Hotel School, and we expect you to do the same for future graduating classes.?

I?m looking forward to hearing about Jovanka and her career success well into the future.

Val Cook
Alumni Ambassador

Source: http://www.bluemountains.edu.au/blog/advice-graduates-2012/

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