A day in the life of an international hospitality and tourism management student
On a typical Monday, what does a final-year International Hospitality and Tourism Management (IHTM) student do? Well, let me give you a snippet of my life here at the University of Surrey.
Hi! My name is Ana Gutierrez and I am a third year IHTM student. Every Monday, I have a late start with my lectures, giving me time to go to the library and prepare for the week ahead. I live off-campus, so I get up early to have enough time to walk.
Normally I would watch the pre-recorded videos available on Surrey Learn at home, but I decided to go to the library to jot down notes, making sure it’s ready for my live learning.
At 1pm, I start my only lecture for the day, the 'Business Research Methods' module, and it is one of the compulsory modules for semester one. It’s one hour of live learning which is not bad because there is a LOT of content to take in. It’s basically the introductory module before you do your dissertation.
Following that, I have a workshop for two hours that’s normally scheduled for Wednesdays.
This workshop is for my favourite module this semester, Hospitality Events Management, where we get to host a virtual fundraising event as part of our assessment.
This workshop is for my favourite module this semester, 'Hospitality Events Management', where we get to host a virtual fundraising event as part of our assessment.
It’s a great way to put all the theories into practice whilst raising money for a charity. My group is hosting a Christmas themed event called ‘A Merry Wreathmas’ where participants decorate their own wreaths. I can't wait to see all the participants’ cheery and excited faces!
Time for a quick snack break! I grabbed some crisps from one of the food outlets available on campus called Simply Fresh, which is a small shop with all the essential grocery items you need. It is conveniently located in the same building as the library. There are lots of seating areas where you can eat or meet up with your friends. After 20 minutes of chilling and snacking, it’s time to walk to Surrey Sports Park.
Ana pictured wearing shirt number 30
Every Monday there is a women’s only training session with the Team Surrey Ultimate Society. I don’t usually attend this session as the weather on Mondays doesn’t seem to be on my side, but I told myself I need to get out and move my body and attended. It did rain during that session (got to love the British weather)! It was worth it though, I had fun and socialised at the same time! So that frisbee session ended at around 6pm and then I went to Tesco for a quick shop.
At last, home time! I got changed and quickly finished note-taking from the lecture and workshop earlier. At around 7 pm, I prepared my dinner - it was very good! Time to wind down now and watch some YouTube videos and, of course, scroll through social media until my eyes are too tired. What a long, productive Monday!
Discover more about life at Surrey and our courses in Hospitality and Tourism Management.