1. ANA MARIA VELEZ MANJARRES
COLOMBIAN
BACHELOR DEGREE WITH ENTREPRENEURSHIP
SEMESTER 7
STUDENT LIFE
To live in Switzerland has been an amazing experience. Throughout my four
years, I’ve been travelling a lot, completing my internships and visiting home.
Switzerland is an amazing country; it offers a lot of things to do, and most of
themareconnectedwithnature.Amazingscenery,deliciousfood,beautifulcities,
lakes, and mountains, these are all part of what defines Switzerland.
Bluche is definitely very different to my home city, which is Bogota – the capital
of Colombia. That Bogota is a Latin American capital, already speaks for itself.
Bluche is quiet, very green, inhabited by only locals and students – that’s it. To
go shopping or dining, you have to go to Crans-Montana or to the cities close to
Bluche(Montreux,Lausanne,Geneva).Undoubtedly,livingherehasbeenamazing.
I will definitely miss living in such an environment.
ENTREPRENEURIAL THINKING
Les Roches indeed encourages entrepreneurial thinking through all the projects
we do during the program. The projects are very educational and enable and
empower us to think like leaders, which is why most of us feel ready to become
outstanding leaders in the hospitality industry. Coupled with this, is the
opportunity to do a series of internships that provide all students with the chance
to grow as professionals.
WHAT MAKES LES ROCHES UNIQUE?
Studying at Les Roches is unique for several reasons: it is a small community of
1,400 students per semester and there are more than 90 nationalities within it!
The chances of doing internships all over the world are exciting and interesting.
The teachers and students all have an encouraging and friendly relationship,
which is hospitality attitude ‘in practice’. Also, the view we get when we wake up
everymorningtogotoschoolisunique;it’snotreallycommoninothereducational
institutions. Definitely, Les Roches is one of a kind.
LES ROCHES IN 3 WORDS:
INTERNATIONAL, ENRICHING
& TOP
A VALUABLE INVESTMENT
As studies have shown, Les Roches is one of the top 3 hospitality schools in the
world. By stating this, I refer to the reputation my school has, and therefore, I
am willing to keep on positively representing it throughout my career. It was
definitely a valuable investment since I feel ready now to work in this industry,
which, due to Les Roches, helped in making it my passion. To be in the hospitality
industry, passion is definitely needed, and I can assure you, I am very passionate
about the career and university I chose. With hard work and passion, Les Roches
will definitely be the reason of my success.
MY INTERNSHIPS
I have completed 3 internships, all of them in very different countries. My first
internship,IdidinPenhaLongaHotel(Ritz-Carlton)inSintra,Portugal.Iworkedas
RoomServiceIntern.WhenIstartedtoworkthere,theRoomServicedepartment
gave me supervisory responsibilities, which therefore was a challenge for me as
it was my first time doing it; however, I overcame all problems and this internship
became one of the most enriching of all three.
The second internship that I completed was in Abu Dhabi, UAE, at the YasViceroy
hotel.DuringthisinternshipIworkedin5differentkitchens(pastry,all-day-dining,
cold, Japanese and pool/bar).The main lesson I learned was how to work in teams
since having smooth relationships with everyone effectively helped me achieve
my goals. Abu Dhabi was amazing; it is where I want to go when I graduate.
Finally, the third internship was in Les Roches Shanghai, China. I was working as
a receptionist as well as Assistant to the Student Activities Manager. Living in
China without knowing Chinese was indeed the biggest challenge I encountered.
Nonetheless,IlearnedhowtolivethereasanexpatandlearnedbasicChineseand
how to get around.
At the end, I believe that all my experiences and travels will positively influence
my future endeavors since I learnt a lot about people, cultures, traditions and
history; and this is something essential when it comes to creating unforgettable
experiences in the hospitality industry.
MY FUTURE
I am willing to work hard and learn a lot in the next few years so that when I feel
I am ready, I can open my own F&B restaurant back home where events and
amazingdiningexperiencestakeplace.IbelievethatBogota,asagrowingtourism
destination, needs this kind of hospitality, and I want to be part of its growth.
This is my dream job - to have my own business, but at the same time, to help my
country become more attractive in terms of tourism.
“MYPROGRAM IS DEFINITELYGOINGTO HELP METO
ACHIEVE GOALS IN LIFE. NOWTHATI AM GRADUATING,
I AM READYTO LIVE INTHE REALWORLD, AND
SUCCEED IN MAKING MYDREAMS COMETRUE.THIS IS
ALL DUETOTHE EDUCATION AND SUPPORTGIVEN BY
LES ROCHES FACULTY. “