Hospitality as a whole I believe creates memories for guests and travellers alike. Knowing that, I want the experiences I create to be meaningful, impactful and I want those experiences to last a life time. I have always had the desire to start my own Boutique Hotel that’s small and warm and feels like a home away from home. Having this place I envisioned seeing people from different walks of life coming in and going out the doors of the Hotel. In order to make an impact in any capacity you have to reach the heart of a person in a positive way. Reaching the heart can come in the form of a small gesture like chocolates to welcome guests or even making sure their room is neat and tidy for them to feel comfortable or wishing them an amazing day. These things may seem insignificant but that kindness that you show even in the hospitality industry can lead to the person who was shown kindness to do the same to others. In the hospitality industry it is true that you are expected to be hospitable and cater to the needs of guests and customers alike. However what can set me apart is my ability to do everything with kindness and fuelling that passion for hospitality and never letting it wane. Another impact I would like to bring about is helping those in need in the local community. A business can only thrive by the support of the local community but as a business I would have to help out and give back to that very same community. Like the saying goes no man is an island, so by helping the community you are unifying yourself to the local community. I know helping out in the local community is not an impact on a global scale but before making an impact on a global scale it’s always good to start with those nearer to you and have hope that your impact will have a global reach eventually. So kindness to people and helping out in your local community are the positive impacts I hope to bring about by fuelling the passion I have for hospitality.

I am a foreign student from a low income family who has always had a dream of making something of myself and helping my family come out of financial hardships. Coming from a low income family, I know what it feels like to not have and to barely get by. The opportunity to be in the US will help me achieve the goals of making something of myself and helping my family out into a reality but the journey itself has not been easy. As an international student things are always ten times harder and adapting to a new environment is never easy. The simple things like a job that others may have an opportunity to have, do not come by so easily when you are a foreign student. Home sickness and not having anyone in the country also adds to the list of things that can affect an immigrant student. If given the time to list the grievances that international students like myself face, that list is never ending. So it’s safe to say it’s not been an easy road. Even with the hardships there are things that remind me that it’s worth it, like kindness from strangers or even having a couple of professors having your back in times of need. Those moments are the ones that help you keep pushing forward despite any obstacles or hardships. As I continue to navigate this journey, I have learnt that I have an inner resilience that when push comes to shove I make sure I achieve my goals and dreams. This does not mean everything goes my way, quite the opposite. In fact it means I have learnt to adapt to circumstances and navigate them as best as I can and not let them stop me in achieving what I set to do. From my time in university I have learnt it only takes a phone call to get the help that someone needs, but you have to be willing to help. I hope to be able to help others migrating to the US from my home country or any foreign student as best as I can. I have also become someone who knows and values genuine help when it is given, which means I want to do the same for others. As for my career choices they have been impacted in that because of the hardships that I have faced I have become more empathetic and that is a quality I will apply when owning my own business and when I get a chance to hire students for my business. I realise now too that my career is not limited to doing one thing I can do a lot more. In doing more I hope I will be able to give a helping hand to someone else who will be trying to navigate being in a new country, away from family.

I can relate to Malgorzata's challenges of having moved to the USA without a support system in the country and being on my own for the most part. Acclimating myself to the culture in this country and the way things are done has not been easy but I have powered on. Coming to this country on your own is like starting from the ground up because you are making new connections as if you are pressing the reset button, it is never easy. Till now I can not claim to have settled in because it can not happen overnight but with each new day, I am achieving that. I have worked for the past couple of years and being back in school and not working because of restrictions on my visa as a student has left me with little to no options in terms of getting myself a job that will keep me busy and help with expenses. I have so many passions including baking, cooking, and teaching and all these lay dormant until I can pursue them as a career. Being away from my family is not easy but I know coming here was not easy so I will do my best in all that I am assigned to do and keep my determination to succeed because the journey it took to get here was not easy at all. Another similarity that Malgorzata and I have is that we have both been affected by cancer. My father passed due to prostate cancer and that left my family without the main breadwinner since my mother had stopped working to take care of him. He passed away but the years he endured this disease were not easy. There were highs and lows for our family and we always held onto the highs when things were really bad. No amount of self-talk can prepare you to lose a loved one and the wound never fully heals. I am not pursuing STEM but I do have an interest in Interior design and architecture, this passion came from my father who was a civil engineer. I hope given the opportunity I would love to study architecture. I may not be up for a debate like Malgorzata but I am enthusiastic about learning different cultures and nuggets of information because in my eyes it's never too late to learn. I am hoping by applying for this scholarship I can help remove the weight of tuition on my family and with to=ime be able to work and support them.