JONATHAN ALLEYNE is off to Buckingham Palace and maybe even visit the Queen.
The recipient of the Royal Household Hospitality Scholarship 2017 is set to begin his six-week stint as part of the Front-of-House team of the Master of the Household’s Department at Buckingham Palace. Later, he will be assigned to Windsor Castle during Royal Ascot Week in June.
The 22-year-old student of the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies flew to London last Sunday. He told the DAILY NATION that “excited” did not accurately describe how he felt, suggesting instead “over the moon”, “overwhelmed” and “fussy” would be more appropriate.
“When I found out I won the scholarship, I was on campus preparing for a test that I had that afternoon. I was checking my emails and received the acceptance letter. I was a bit excited,” he said, laughing.
“The first person I called was my mummy, Lisa Alleyne, the campus bursar [at Cave Hill] and she was fussy,” he added during a recent interview.
It was during the Christmas holidays last year when one of his teachers from PomMarine suggested that he apply for the scholarship. Jonathan said while he did not meet all of the prerequisites and didn’t think he would qualify because he was still a student without a full-time job, the teacher told him to go apply anyway.
He went on to secure one of the nine hospitality placements also offered to citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Jonathan is a former student of Alexandra School, The St Michael School, where he studied economics, mathematics and sociology in sixth form, and the Barbados Community College’s Hospitality Institute.
Last Thursday, he completed the final exam of his tourism and hospitality management Bachelor’s degree programme at the Cave Hill Campus and come September, he will be starting a Master’s in project management and evaluation.
The young man is looking forward to one day owning and managing his own hotel. He’s not sure yet where it will be located but he knows that it will have sustainable practices that will be environmentally sound and make economic sense.
“I’ve always had an interest in tourism, getting to meet people and learning about different cultures. I enjoy interacting with people. Honestly, I’m fairly fascinated with the hotel industry and having worked [in it] part-time for a little bit, that really solidified my interest in hotels and managing hotels in the future.
“I completed two internships at Sandy Lane where I have done numerous postings in food and beverage there and at the Tree House Club.
“Another goal and the main motivator to do my Master’s degree is so I can facilitate future tourism projects in the interim,” he added.
When he was not beating the books, Jonathan could be found at the beach, and involved in rallying or running, both sports he started doing recently.
“I’m an avid runner and motor sport competitor. I am a co-driver in the Barbados Rally Club Championship for Edward Corbin. I started last May and Rally Barbados was my first competition. It was enlightening at best, I had a lot of fun and it gave me a different perspective on a lot of things, like how fast the cars go, how much of a risk there actually is,” he said, chuckling.
He is going to miss Rally Barbados this year but his friends will keep him in the loop.
As for running, it was only when he copped an Emerging Leaders of the Americas Programme Scholarship in 2014 and studied at St Lawrence College in Canada, that he took up the sport. During that semester, he participated in the Canadian Cross Country Championship and just recently he did the RBC Run 4 Kids, placing fourth. Other than that, he just runs for fun.
Twice a week, when he was not studying, the St James resident volunteers with his church’s – Calvary Moravian – feeding programme, something he likes to do.
Jonathan is excited at being in London as it is his first visit to the United Kingdom. He said he will not waste a moment taking in all he is shown and taught. He hopes to visit as many of the attractions he’s either read about or seen, such as Westminster Abbey. That will be his first stop whenever he gets the chance.
After returning in late June, he says he will be spending lots of time at the beach teaching himself how to surf, soaking up the sun as he thaws from his “very important” London stint. (GBM)
