TWO young local women have walked away from a prestigious awards lunch in Sydney with scholarships worth $20,000 each.
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When Green Point local Josey Oldfield was announced the winner of the Australian Hotels Association’s Women in Tourism and Hospitality award, no one was more surprised than her.
Not one to normally enter competitions, she had done so on the urging of friends and family, and is now the first to admit that it is always worth giving something a shot.
“I was very surprised,” said Josey. “I really didn’t think I had a chance... But I got it.”
Whilst Josey puts her successful application down to her interest in the industry and her ongoing commitment to further study, the judges gave her the thumbs up for her ‘X Factor’.
With her understanding of the industry and its time commitments, she impressed during the interviews with her ability to talk to anyone, from anywhere; her knowledge; and her presentation.
No stranger to hospitality, Josey has been helping her parents since she was 14 in their family business, the Country Palings Petals and Pots cafe in Green Point. She also works at a cafe in Forster, and assists with holiday accommodation bookings.
The scholarship was one of three given to women living in regional NSW by the Australian Hotels Association, in recognition of the role women play in tourism and hospitality throughout Australia.
The local region was well represented, and Josey’s award was followed by another to Nicole Jones from Hallidays Point.
“The judges were so impressed by the high level of finalists that they made the decision on the day to not only grant Josey the winning scholarship, but to grant additional packages to both Nicole and Lana (Lane Rigby of Lower Portland),” AHA NSW CEO John Whelan said at the awards lunch held at Doltone House in Sydney recently.
“That’s a total value of $60,000 invested in these women’s future”.
Nicole is currently doing her HSC at Great Lakes College, and with the $20,000 scholarship now in her pocket, she will be set to join Josey at the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School to undertake a Bachelor of Business degree (International Hotel and Resorts Management).
The scholarship covers the residential costs of the three-year degree.
