My name is Sophie, I am 23 years old and I am originally from France. I received the BU Academic Scholarship (EU) to help me to do a Master’s degree in Hotel and Food Service Management.

My academic pathway has been a long search for what I really want to do. After my French A-levels, I did a two year degree in France in Business and Sales. I found it interesting, but didn’t really want to work in this area, as it didn’t suit my creative personality.

I’ve always liked travelling, so I decided to enrol at a university in Dublin to continue my Bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship – and it was the perfect compromise between business and creativity! I learned to do a business plan, and develop business opportunities. During this time, I also realised that food – a normal cultural French interest – was more than just a hobby. I did most of my Entrepreneurship projects on food or hospitality businesses. I also worked for hospitality companies and food retails during the summer breaks. It all made me realise that I really wanted to work in the hospitality industry, and one day, set up my own company!

I was very motivated and worked hard. It paid off as I had very good results in my exams, which resulted in me getting the BU Academic Scholarship: a £2000 reduction on my tuition fees, automatically awarded. I was very proud to get this scholarship. I’ve always been an average student, but with the goal to pursue my studies in hospitality at BU, I had to get good results to get into the Master’s programme, and it really motivated me to study. It was hard as English is not my first language, and I was far from home, but this scholarship proves to me that it was all worth it.

Doing a Master’s degree at BU is the final step I need to pursue my dream. I’ve finally found what I want to do with my life, and this gives me the final pieces of knowledge that I need to work in the industry. I enjoy the variety of classes that we have, from general tourism to specific types of restaurants, as well as hearing from many conference and guest speakers. I chose to do the placement unit and study abroad option, which allows me to work for 15 weeks and spend a semester in a university abroad to learn more about hospitality, in a different academic environment. I love how BU encourages us to broaden our horizons, by welcoming students and lecturers from all around the world and offering us many options in our studies.

By Sophie de Ganay

You can find out more about the Academic Scholarship for UK/EU students on our website.