Adapting to the Unknown

Yvonne Bosetti, MBA (specialisations: Tourism & Hospitality / Project Management)

From a busy city to the middle of nowhere

I grew up in Milan, Italy, a very busy city. I did gymnastics, dance, and followed my dad to football games to support our team, FC International Milano.

After finishing my bachelor’s degree in Italy I moved to London. I stayed for 3 years, but I didn’t enjoy the weather. The working hours were long; I didn’t have enough time to sleep. I needed sunny weather and a better work-life balance. I decided to go to Australia.

When I first arrived in Western Australia (WA), I wanted to travel but after I had landed, the COVID-19 pandemic had started. The borders closed and I couldn’t go home. So, I looked for work. During the height of a global pandemic, I found myself in the middle of nowhere working on a farm. Six months later, the COVID restrictions were lifted, and I was finally able to travel around Australia.

Settling in Perth

Perth had the sunny weather, natural landscape, and relaxing environment I was searching for. After my road trip, I wanted to stay. Since high school, I have enjoyed learning about tourism. Kaplan Business School (KBS) had just opened a new campus in Perth. So, I enrolled into an MBA with specialisations in Tourism & Hospitality Management and Project Management.

Studying in Italy vs Studying at KBS

Studying at KBS in Australia is completely different to studying at university in Italy. In Italy, they focused on theory and gave you volumes of information to read and memorise. They taught you study strategies. I could recall a lot of information for my exam and achieved good grades, but I was not taught how to apply theory to the workplace or given opportunities to do so. At KBS, on the other hand, my lecturers balanced theory with practical work. My lecturer Alan Rees - one of my favourite lecturers - explained complex concepts in a way that I could understand. And because he had industry experience, he could give many helpful examples. In Italy, I only had to complete one thesis at the end of my degree. At KBS, I had to do extensive research and hand in 2 essays per month. KBS does not have exams, so I didn't have to memorise volumes of information and write them down. Instead, my lecturers wanted me to critically analyse the information taught, construct an argument, and give my opinion.

Helping the student community

In my first trimester at KBS, I helped run events on campus. One of the Student Experience Officers (SEO) approached me to ask if I would like to join the Student Ambassador team.

In Italy, you need to be elected to lead a school body. And even when you are elected, you are more the 'political' face of the group instead of being active on the ground. I prefer to work with a team at the frontline. So, I was hesitant at first when they asked me to join.

Fortunately, there wasn't an election process, and everyone worked at the front as a team, so I joined. I loved seeing how happy students were at our events and enjoyed listening to their stories and feedback.

Stepping into the unknown

• On the Board of LIAWA

I was in Italy on holidays when my lecturer, Alan, called me to ask if I would like to interview for a non-executive position on the Board of the Landscape Industry Association of Western Australia (LIAWA). The role would involve advising Board members on Marketing, Communication, and Events. I have never been on a Board and have no experience within the Landscaping industry, but I decided to give it a try. I went for an interview with LIAWA’s CEO and was offered the position. I went to my first board meeting with Alan, who had just started as their advisor in risk analysis. I couldn’t understand most of the topics they were talking about. I had to go home and research. I am still getting used to the formality of meetings and I have a lot to learn. The Board comprises of people from vocational education, senior lecturers, and landscape business owners so I get to work with a variety of people. Best of all, I have opportunities to share my expertise.

• Becoming a lecturer

I became a lecturer at KBS last trimester. I had never thought of becoming a teacher. I had not applied for a teaching role, but the Academic Head had heard about my work experience and after interviewing me, offered me a Tourism subject to teach. The Academic staff began to train me, and I familiarised myself with all the teaching material. However, when the day arrived to teach my first class, I was so nervous; I was shaking. I thought back to what my lecturers would have done. I had to adapt. I tried explaining concepts in different ways, answered questions as best as I could, built connections with my students, and answered their emails promptly.

The reality of working in the Tourism & Hospitality industry

In tourism and hospitality, things are always changing, moving quickly, and can also go wrong. You must adapt to every type of situation quickly and be good at problem-solving and stress management. Let me give you two examples – one from retail and one from hospitality. The environment between a busy retail store and hospitality is similar. You need to keep calm, solve multiple problems at once, and always treat your customers with a positive attitude.

• As a Floor Manager at Forever21

When I was in London, I was working as a Floor Manager for one of the Forever21 stores. On one busy day, I had to manage 6 counters on my floor. Over the radio, I was getting requests to help with refunds, to respond to complaining customers, and if other Floor Managers were busy, I had to help with tasks on their floors too. I was constantly stopped by customers to answer questions and help them get this and that. The requests over the radio wouldn’t stop. I had to keep reminding myself to breathe and keep going with a positive attitude. After my shift, I was exhausted. I found out the next day that a customer whom I had helped had emailed the head office and gave me a positive review. She had seen me busily running up and down between floors, multitasking and appreciated that I still stopped to help her. That positive feedback motivated me to keep going.

• As a waiter in a hotel restaurant

One morning at a London hotel where I was working, a chef mixed up the time that he was to arrive to cook breakfast for 200 people. While he was on his way, we called every staff member in the hotel to help set up the cooking stations and start cooking food (fortunately some of the managers were ex-chefs). Everything was ready when the first guests came into the restaurant.

The guests never knew what had happened.

Being underestimated 

I am not yet 30 years old and, in the past, some of my older colleagues looked down on me because of my age. I may be young, but I have been working a long time. In fact, I have the same level of experience as older employees – it’s just that I started working earlier in life, and they started later.

Back in Italy, I helped my mother run her business when I was in my teens. In my early twenties, I was working 19 hours a day to help fund my study and travel.

When I started studying at KBS, my boyfriend took a job in Busselton – which was 3 hours from Perth. I worked in a kitchen for 5 days in Busselton, and then drove 3 hours to Perth to study 2 days at KBS. I could have studied online, but I preferred face-to-face classes and being active on campus.

After a month, I took an academic internship that was organised through KBS at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Perth. I worked 4 days in Busselton, 2 days at the internship, and attended 1 day of classes at KBS.

What’s next for me?

My problem is that I have too many interests. It’s hard for me to focus on one thing. For now, I am enjoying studying while working in multiple roles that challenge me.

I am currently working as an Events Coordinator at the Ritz Carlton hotel. I had the opportunity to interview for this role due to the internship I previously completed with them, which was facilitated by KBS. For the next few years, I see myself growing professionally in this company.

Want to connect with Yvonne?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvonne-bosetti/

Have an interest in more than one industry? Check out our Master of Business Administration (2 specialisations) and the benefits of studying business in Australia.

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