The Tourism Academy @ Sentosa in Singapore - the school that taught me to grow from a student to a young professional.

I am currently working in Dubai with the Al Shirawi group of Companies under the Facilities Management division as a Customer Service Executive, and most recently, Resident Manager (RM).

At first when the RM position became available, my company was looking externally for someone. However, I decided to take the bull by the horns and marched right into the management’s office to convince them that I was the right person for the job. After all, various effective organisational skills I picked up from TAS such as time management, multi-tasking and handling pressure were just what the RM job needed.

My job profile involves handling customer complaints, satisfying all the guests and residents, and having a smooth flow of operations. It is exactly the same as what we learned in TAS about working in hotels i.e. operations, service recovery, complaints and feedback.

I am also trying to render concierge services by organising visas and travel tickets to residents, which allows me to stay in touch with my favorite industry of Hospitality and Tourism.

Where I am, and the things that I have learnt, would have not been possible without the support of the lecturers, the esteemed guest speakers and all my international classmates from TAS.

If you are still wondering which tourism school to go to, check out The Tourism Academy @ Sentosa. I did and I have no regrets.

Sunayna Bhambhani, TAS graduate April 2009

(Written July 2009)