As the Young Hoteliers Summit is getting closer and closer, this special edition of the YHStories will focus on the YHS’s delegates as they build a fundamental part of the summit! My name is Léna, I am one of the four assistants of the PR&Press team, and I had the lucky opportunity to meet four YHS’ delegates.
Mathilde Laporte
Mathilde is a 20-year-old student from France, yet she is probably the least “Frenchie” out of her French peers taking part in the summit. She has lived most of her life abroad and quickly discovered her interest for new cultures, traveling, and taking care of people. This is one of the reasons why Mathilde has chosen to study abroad at the Dutch hospitality school The Hague. Once she will graduate from the prestigious hotel school, Mathilde wishes to complete her studies with a Master in Luxury Management and Guest Experience at Glion, in Switzerland. In fact, her dream is to pursue a career in a Helvetic fine watchmaking Maison. Think about how determined Mathilde is, she even recently obtained the Watch Advisor certification from the FHH (Foundation High Horology)! Besides studying hard and traveling, she enjoys practicing Pilates, cooking with friends, and learning Arabic. Mathilde learned about the Young Hoteliers Summit through a friend and quickly realized that the event would be a great opportunity to connect with other students, broaden her network and experience the renowned EHL standards. For these reasons, she expects that this year's summit will open new perspectives and relations within the industry!
Ilias Kuntras
Our next featured delegate is Ilias! The roots of the 21-year old student can be traced back to Greece and Finland, what an amazing combination! Since he can remember, Ilias has been passionate about cooking and gastronomy. That is why he started an educational path in professional cooking while studying at Perho Culinary, Travel & Business College. With time, his love for culinary arts was combined with the desire of expressing empathy through service and, thus, continued his studies at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences. So you may wonder- what are his plans for the future? To conclude his studies and deepen his intensified interest in the food industry, Ilias plans on pursuing a master's degree in Food Culture, Communication and Marketing in New Zealand. Other than gastronomy, he loves sports, gaming, and socializing. Even if Ilias gives a pretty laid-back impression, his friends would describe him as a great overthinker and a reliable teammate. Ilias is a highly involved student who, wherefore, found out about YHS during chats with his lecturer. How could he miss out on the challenge and the opportunity of YHS? Ilias is convinced that the upcoming summit will be the perfect occasion to engage, learn and exchange with other young professionals.
Magdalena Sabeva
Magdalena, a 22-year-old Bulgarian student, will represent César Ritz Colleges at the upcoming Young Hoteliers Summit. Deciding to study in Montreux was a well-thought decision. In fact, Magdalena was previously accepted into various prestigious architecture universities in London. She chose the Swiss renowned college, instead, because of its popularity, its international community, and the double degree. Moreover, she was attracted by the broad, dynamic, and vibrant components of the hospitality industry. After her studies, though, Magdalena’s dream is to live in the stimulating city of London and to pursue a career in the tourism sector. We wish her a lot of good luck with this objective! Besides following her dreams, Magdalena is a very active person and feels most alive when hiking, skiing, playing tennis, and traveling. She was chosen by her university’s program manager to be a school representative and then discovered YHS on Instagram and LinkedIn. After having seen last year’s summit content on social media, she is looking forward to meeting and networking with the other delegates. Most of all, she is excited to follow the panels and keynotes and looks forward to getting to know more about the students' diverse backgrounds!
Giulia Bögli
The last delegate for today is Giulia. She is a special delegate as she will represent EHL, the host institution! She is a 23-year-old student from Berne, a beautiful region in the German part of Switzerland. After having completed her high school diploma, she took a gap year in which she traveled the world and worked in a hotel. On this occasion, she realized how much she enjoys being in an international environment where different cultures and people interact with each other. This is one of the reasons, Giulia chose EHL to complete her bachelor's degree. Besides her passion for traveling, Giulia was inspired by the hospitality industry from a very early stage in her life as she always enjoyed experiencing and delivering excellent customer service. To improve her service skills, Giulia decided to work for the Soho House in London during her operational internship. As she had an amazing experience, this is when she decided to pursue her path in the tourism and hospitality industry. Besides traveling the world, Giulia is an active person who enjoys playing soccer, running, and spending quality time with her friends. To deepen her knowledge of the industry and get to know people from different universities, Giulia decided to apply as a YHS delegate. Because of her hardworking and proactive attitude, she will surely represent EHL brilliantly during the summit days!
All the different backgrounds of the YHS delegates are impressive! In fact, other than Mathilde, Ilias, Magdalena, and Giulia, other 83 student delegates will represent 42 different universities spread throughout the world! Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic does not allow the delegates to meet in person for the YHS 2022, however, we are sure that their strong, passionate, and resourceful personalities will pave the way for a successful, interactive, and impactful summit. Our objective is to connect these motivated students and we aim to build long-lasting relationships. We are more than excited to bring together people of different nationalities and universities who share a common passion for the hospitality industry!
