League of Young Hospitality Managers and Travel Council (LYHMTC) spearheaded a Student Pre-Departure Seminar for the On-the-Job Training (OJT) students in partnership with the College of Business and Management (CBM) and University Health Services, featuring the theme, โInternship Readiness Seminar: Preparing for Success,โ held at the Isabela State University-Cauayan City Campus Food Laboratory on January 30.
Mildred Matulin, the Program Chair of Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management (BSHM) delivered indispensable opening remarks, encouraging the students through the crucial phase of their academic journey while specifying the objectives of the seminar: fostering mindsets of adaptability, resilience, and professionalism.
Matulin reiterated a proverb to inculcate in the minds of the participants, “The guest sees more in an hour than the host sees in a year.โ
โYour journey at hand holds the promise of invaluable experiences, and weโre here to ensure that you embark on it well-prepared and confident. Let this seminar serve as a compass, guiding you towards success in the dynamic and rich world of hospitality,โ she further stated.
Moreover, Guest Speaker Leibi Utanes engaged in an insightful discussion regarding occupational health safety, and further focusing on the basic introduction to hospitality workplace safety.
Utanes also served as a guiding force in imbuing the students in learning how to be cautious and place safety as their priority.
She also addressed the identification of safety hazards in the workplace, accident prevention measures, required safety equipment, essential items for a first aid kit, and the understanding of basic first aid treatments.
Additionally, Atty. Christian Gonzales tackled Republic Act 11313, otherwise known as the Safe Spaces Act or commonly known as the Anti-Bastos Law, informing the students of their rights and empowering them to stand against harassment.
Gonzales further stretched the discussion to Gender-Based Sexual Harassment in the streets, and public and online spaces, emphasizing that harassment is not limited to women and can also affect men and individuals identifying as a third gender.
He ended his talk with the statement, โIf you have something or something is bothering you in relation to this, or in relation to other things, pwede kayong humingi ng advice sa akin. [โฆ] Iโm very willing to help you. Kapag kailangan niyo, tutulungan ko rin kayo.โ
Ma. Edel Galiza, Adviser of LYHMTC, expressed her utmost gratitude to those who worked behind the realization of the seminar and recognized the fourth-year students for their positive participation.
Galiza also shared an old Japanese saying, โIchigo ichie,โ which means “one precious opportunity to meet someone in all our life,โ correlating it to opportunities. โThe same thing can be applied to opportunity. You should think that it is only one chance, or the last one, to meet them in your life,โ she underscored.
The seminar was organized in preparation for the upcoming deployment of fourth-year students from the BSHM and Bachelor of Science in Tourism Management (BSTM) for their On-the-Job Training.
Karla Maramag, the Program Chair of BSTM, and Pritzy Asis, Co-Adviser of LYHMTC, were in attendance at the seminar.
By Rheyven Rose Labayog
