Hello HTMi graduates and future HTMi students!
My name is Andra Carolia from Romania. I started HTMi in 2009 with Certificate Course and I accomplished my studies in 2013 after completing my BSc Hons. Degree. I am truly grateful to all HTMi staff, from teachers to operational management for all the knowledge I gained during my time there. I am convinced that those years brought my experience to another level and it made me more professional and prepared for hospitality industry.
I consider myself a very lucky person, but I also know that the luck you make it with your own hands and you don’t have to wait for someone to give you something. You have to continuously recognize your opportunities and acquire everything is best from every experience you have.
During my time in HTMi I had the chance to complete most of my internships in luxurious hotels such as Grand Hotel Europe in Luzern, Switzerland, Ritz-Carlton Hotel Group in Barcelona, Spain and Swisstouches Hotels and Resorts in Xi’an China, where I had the opportunity to work in most of hotel departments, such as Food and Beverage, Front Office, Housekeeping, Events and Banqueting. Moreover, after completing my Higher Diploma Course, I completed my internship in Congrex, an international company, which is organizing conferences all around the world.
There I had the opportunity to be part of the organizing team for International AIDS Conference which took place in Washington D.C in 2012. The conference had 20.000 participants and it was the biggest AIDS Conference that was ever held in the world, which is why I am extremely proud that I was part of it and extremely thankful to HTMi for this amazing experience.
Throughout my internships I developed a big interest for event planning which is why, I decided to continue my career in this field and become a true professional. At this moment I am working as a Project Manager for a concept called Iconic Food Wine & Design by Camelia Sucu in Bucharest, Romania (www.iconic-fwd.ro). My job is to plan every event by taking care of all the steps, from food, decorations, guests, press etc. The events here are different from hotel events, for the reasons that are very diverse. In 7 months I had the chance to organize business conferences, VIP dinners, painting exhibitions, book launchings, VIP dinners, fashion shows and diverse events for promoting different brands. The most important part of all is that I am extremely in love with my job, I love the people that I work with, the management and I am certain that I will have many opportunities in the near future. The job is very challenging , which is why I love it so much. Each day I have to do something different than the day before, each day I have to think of a different project or a different strategy to attract more people, more events and therefore more profit for the company.
I sincerely miss all the people in Sorenberg and I am looking forward to see all of them in the near future. Future HTMi students need to keep in mind that university years are significant; you have to take advantage of it and make amazing memories, but students don’t have to forget that in university they are forming their careers which is why they have to take all the chances and opportunities they have and make the best of it.
Wishing everybody all the best!
From Romania with love,
Andra Carolia, Project Manager, Iconic Food Wine & Design by Camelia Sucu, Romania
