By Michael Veith

While a dorm room’s view is usually nothing to marvel at, Yiran Qin’s overlooks a pristine view of Lake Geneva, from up in the Swiss Alps. She finds her time at the Swiss Hotel Management School (SHMS) an incredible university experience, not just because of the view or the fact that it looks like “Hogwarts on top of a mountain”,  but because  she finds it so rewarding.

In her second year at SMHS, Yiran (Class of 2012) is looking to specialize in hospitality and events management in her third year, graduating with a Bachelors degree in the field. “It’s great to be at a school where everyone is doing the same program as you. You meet so many like-minded and international people.” Student courses don’t stress importance on essays, but rather group work, projects, presentations, and internships. During their first two years, students are required to complete two internships, which range from four to six months, at hotels all over the world. This past spring and summer, Yiran completed her first internship at Sandals, one of the biggest and best all-inclusive resorts in the whole Caribbean, on the Island of Saint Lucia.

“Being in the Caribbean was awesome. I met tons of other interns from all across the world, made lifelong friends, and enjoyed the Caribbean lifestyle. Internships make it really easy to get a job later on because we focus on networking with hotels, and from our two internships we build a pretty sweet resume for when we graduate!”

In addition to building a great looking resume, Yiran is doing something she really enjoys, “I genuinely like being in the environment of our school and being around all the people. During the summer, I couldn’t wait to get back to this place.”