Bree Smith, a 21-year-old Hospitality and Events Management (Level 6) student at Ayrshire College, recently won a prestigious scholarship to visit the world-renowned EHL Hospitality Business & Hotel Management School in Lausanne, Switzerland.  

  
The two-day Customer Excellence course at EHL featured dining at Le Berceau des Sens, a Michelin-starred restaurant operated by students; the only training restaurant in the world to hold this distinction. There was also a wine tasting experience at the Domaine du Daley vineyard, which overlooks Lake Geneva and situated in the heart of the terraced vineyards of Lavaux, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  
  
Bree Smith, from Irvine, said: “I’d change my name to go again. There’s no way to fully explain the feeling of being there. It’s so big and professional but also laidback at the same time. We learned so much about ourselves and how we can use those insights to better know our customers, what customers care about and how to recognise customer needs; using body language to interpret people’s moods. I thought it would be much more hands-on, but this type of learning was fascinating and nothing like I’d ever experienced before. I’d go back in a heartbeat.”  
  
Bree began her journey in hospitality straight after school by completing our popular Coffee, Cocktails and Conversation (Level 4) course, progressing onto further study both our Kilmarnock and Ayr Campuses. She credits her lecturers Ken Alexander and Claire Anderson for getting her prepared for the trip.   

She said: “When Ken told me I was going, I didn’t believe him! I was shocked that I’d been chosen and scared at first, but then I got excited. Claire was so good at calming my nerves.”  
  
Bree’s experience at Lausanne has made her even more passionate about her career prospects, after previously gaining industry experience as a conference and banqueting assistant at weddings and events. She hopes to open her own café or coffee shop in the future and the group of scholarship students from across Scotland also plan to get together for a night out soon.    
  
Paul Brodie, Curriculum Manager: Sport, Fitness and Hospitality (North and South Ayrshire), added: “Bree was chosen for the HIIT scholarship due to consistently submitting high quality work and showing initiative in the Westerly restaurant during service times. On returning from Lausanne, she said it was the best thing she'd ever experienced. It has been great to see her put some of those lessons into practice and share insights with her peers in class. This whole experience really has been transformative for Bree.” 

The scholarship was provided by Hospitality Industry Trust Scotland (HIT Scotland), a leading charity supporting young hospitality professionals, and included 14 students and two lecturers from across Scotland.  

Alyson Gray, HIT Scotland Scholarship Manager said: “We're delighted to be able to offer this learning experience to hospitality students around Scotland, to help inspire and motivate students for their future career in hospitality. It's a mix of classroom and experiential learning, so they get to see how important and well-regarded hospitality is in Switzerland and learn from the world's best hospitality school. HIT Scotland is hugely thankful to the Savoy Educational Trust for their support of our student scholarships which allows us to keep providing this opportunity.”