I am an engaged and ambitious 4th-year student at the Hotel Management School Maastricht. Having lived in Tokyo, Japan, and Antwerp, Belgium let me discover my passion for cultures, traveling, and the people, thus my passion for hospitality. The participation in several programs, such as the Excellence Program, an extra-curricular program for motivated 2nd-year students, enabled me to gain more in-depth knowledge of the industry. It gave me a deeper understanding of concept development, market research, finance, sales, and marketing since we had to create a concept from scratch. The operations internship at the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental in Abu Dhabi, thereafter, opened the door to being part of the pre-opening team of the restaurant Talea by Antonio Guida, which earned a Michelin star after eight months of operation. This experience was incredibly insightful, and I again realized that hospitality and people are a true passion of mine. Returning to Maastricht, I got asked to be part of the organization team of the Excellence Program. Here I could work together with a team on developing passionate 2ndyear students. 

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The next project after this is the participation in the Sustainable Hospitality Challenge, due to my interest in how to create a concept that truly evolves around people, nature, and places. How can hospitality give back to communities and nature instead of taking out more of the place? This is a challenge that helped me grow a lot, and I am super grateful to have such a great team that is determined to redefine hospitality with our concept UKIYO.