Youngest Graduate of SLITHM sweeps six special awards

Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo associates shone at the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management Graduation (SLITHM) 2010 held last week.

First student on stage was Food & Beverage Coordinator Michelle Wahid who topped the Food and Beverage Operations batch with the hotel’s Quality Certification Executive Thivanka De Thabrew a close second with a Merit Pass.

De Thabrew topped his batch in Housekeeping at the basic level and was also placed second in Front Office and Cookery at the basic level. Telephone Operator Nishantha Medagamage and Commis III Lasith Senevirathna also graduated with the class of 2010.

At just twenty, Michelle was the youngest student to graduate with a diploma from the SLITHM to date. She was the only female student in the Food & Beverage class and the only student to pass with Distinction at Intermediate as well as Advanced Levels. Wahid was also the recipient of every award presented in the Food and Beverage discipline for the Intermediate and Advanced levels.

At SLITHM, Wahid conquered a particularly challenging subject - Wine Studies - earning her the Godfrey Perera Challenge Trophy for Best Student in Wine Studies. She was also awarded the Intermediate Level as well as Advanced Level Awards for the Most Outstanding Student in Food and Beverage Operations, the Pearl Henatigala Memorial Trophy donated by Asoka Fernando and Unilever Food Solutions Book Award for the Best Student in Food and Beverage Operational Management, the Sunquick Challenge Trophy for the Best Student in Innovative Cocktail Preparation 2010 as well as the Rohan Dias Abeysinghe Trophy for the Most Outstanding Student of the Year in Food and Beverage Operations donated by Food School, Canberra, Australia.

Wahid also accomplished several achievements during her industrial training, winning the Colombo Region as well as the All Island Marie Brizard classic cocktail competition after which she represented Sri Lanka in Singapore at the Asia Pacific Bartenders Association Challenge Cocktail Competition in 2009.

She was also recognized for her innovative mixology skills by the Chef’s Guild of Lanka with two gold awards and two silver medals as well as the Best Bartender Mixologist award at Culinary Arts 2010.

Her achievements during industrial training fast tracked her career with an immediate promotion to the intermediate level of SLITHM’s Diploma in Food and Beverage Operations Management. These graduates are currently employed at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo, recognized as the Best Five Star City Hotel at the Sri Lanka Tourism Awards 2010.

“We are dedicated to developing future leaders to meet the growing requirements of the industry. We are proud of the achievements of our associates and look forward to supporting them throughout their careers,” Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo General Manager Neroy Marso stated.